Street Justice
by Rogue Ronin
Summary: Sage is plagued by memories of his past before meeting up with the other Ronins. Will the others accept Sage's past or will this hurt their friendship? This is to be a non armor story. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ronin Warriors. I only own the original characters in this story. I'm planning on this story to be a non armor related piece of fiction. Thank You and Enjoy! Ja Ne!

Sage sitting on a bench with his back against another in the city jail.

"Hey, golden boy looks like we have company."

He didn't have to look to figure out who came when a familiar disappointed tone vibrated in his ears.

"Of all the places I thought you'd be, I never imagined I'd find you here Sage." The older man studied the two, he shook his head. What possessed his son to rebel against him in this way? Sage was supposed to be the one to carry the Date name with pride and honor, but now their family name being tarnished. "Turn around and look at me when I'm talking to you son!"

Sage stayed still as a statue. He wasn't going to give in to his father's demands. His voice was of ice when he replied, "I didn't call you."

The guy behind Sage gave a small chuckle when he saw the old man narrowing his eyes.

"I know you didn't, the prescient called me. Imagine my surprise when they told me my son is arrested for street racing, again! How could you do this to our family?"

Sage kept his focus on the wall, "I don't think you mean our family. You meant to say how could I embarrass you with being arrested by the same prescient you run? Don't you father? Besides, it is my second time being arrested for street racing. So it's no big deal."

His father fumed, "No. Big. Deal!? I can see this talk of ours is getting nowhere. I'll just leave you here for a few days to reflect on how you brought dishonor upon our family."

"If you want to leave father, then leave. I'm not keeping you here."

"Sage, if you would rather stay in jail than come home..."

Sage's voice became colder, "To where you can watch me like a hawk? So I don't tarnish the Date name any further? It's what you care about most, isn't it? The family honor, not if I'm ok. Goodbye...Father."

He could see there was no point in talking to his son. Turning on his heels he stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

The guy behind Sage chuckled more as he stood up and placed his hand upon his cellmate's shoulder, "Way to go golden boy. I didn't think you had it in you to stand up to the old man."

Sage stood up so fast and whirled around, he knocked the guy's hand right off his shoulder. Taking him by the shirt front and shoved him against the wall with his other arm back, fist clenched set to strike.

"Take it, easy golden boy, come on, let go Sage..."

"Sage. Sage!" A different voice cut through which made him whirl around as he set up to strike the person who came up to him from behind.

"Hey! Sage! Snap out of it!"

The blonde Ronin blinked when he saw who stood in front of him with their arms up in defense. "Huh? Kaye?" Sage blinked a bit more and shook his head as he cleared out the cobwebs. "Gomen. I didn't mean to react to you as I did."

Kaye lowered her arms when she watched Sage dropped his. "Where were you just now?"

'Why now? Why are these memories coming back to me? It's been so long ago. What are they suppose to mean?' Sage thought to himself. He looked towards her, "Nowhere, I was just, never mind. You were looking for me?"

'What's going on with him? He's been on edge more so than usual.' Kaye gave a small smile. "Cye asked me to find you because it's time to eat."

"I appreciate it. I guess we better hurry and get back before Kento eats everything." Sage replied as he walked up to her.

The two started their walk back to the manor, "Kento went to town in my car. He wanted to take it to the shop since it was acting up for a while now."

He looked towards her, "I could have taken a look for you, I do know about cars."

Kaye laughed a bit, "I appreciate it Sage, but I can't imagine you getting oil and grease all over your hands and clothes."

Sage smiled as he gave a slight nod, "You never know, I just might surprise you. But seriously, next time let me know and I'll take a look."

"I'll keep your offer in mind," Kaye replied as the two of them entered the manor from the back door. She watched Sage as he broke away from her to go and get cleaned up for lunch. After he was out of sight, she walked over to the fridge and pulled out something to drink. 'He's been acting so out of it for a while now. It's been a long time since he's been this distracted.'

"You noticed it too I take it," Cye stated as he was setting the table.

Kaye walked over and set her drink down and pitched in to help him finish. "I did. When I called out to him, he didn't respond right away, but when I went closer he whirled around and had his fist ready to strike."

Cye's eyes went wide when he snapped his attention towards her, "Did he?"

Kaye shook her head, "No, he didn't go through with the punch. Once he realized it was me he apologized for his reaction. I told him it was no big deal."

Cye finished with the table and stood back from it, "What has him so agitated? He's been like this for too long. It isn't like him, most of the time, Sage comes off so calm and collected."

"Hard to know. He won't talk to anyone about what he's feeling. Sage has kept to himself more and more as of late."

Cye walked towards the stove and opened it. He reached inside and pulled out the main course as he kneed the door closed. Carrying it to the table he placed it in the center. "Well, we can't push him to open up about what's going on in his head. He would pull away from us even more if we push him too much. Besides, all of us have things we don't want to talk about with one another from time to time. Right."

Kaye gave a nod, "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Besides, if Sage wants to talk, he'll do it in his own time," Cye replied with a reassuring tone. 'Who am I trying to convince here Kaye or myself? I'm concerned for Sage just like everyone else. Whatever the case, I just hope it doesn't turn out to be something serious. We've lived in peace for a long time now. We are finally getting adjusted to living regular lives for a change.'

"Cye, where are Rowen and Ryo?"

"Rowen said he would be in the study. Ryo is in the basement doing some training. You want to get Rowen and I'll get Ryo, then we can eat."

Kaye gave a nod and started on her way to the study. She knocked on the door once and then opened it as she peeked inside, "Rowen, Cye has lunch ready."

The blue-haired Ronin glanced up from the computer and smiled as he stood up, "Thanks, Kaye. You know it's too bad Kento's in town, he's going to miss out on a great lunch."

Kaye stood there with the door all the way open and smiled back as she waited for him, "You don't feel bad he's missing out on Cye's lunch, fess up!"

Rowen laughed as he walked out of the study. "You're right, it means we'll get to eat more than just the scraps."

"You're terrible," Kaye giggled as the two of them made their way to the dining room.

He smirked as he sat down at the table, "Can you blame me?" Rowen glanced around and didn't see anyone else.

Kaye shook her head, "Cye went to get Ryo from the basement, and Sage went to get cleaned up. He'll be down to join us soon."

"Ryo! Lunch!" Cye called out from the top of the basement stairs.

Ryo stopped in his training and looked up as he smiled, "Thanks Cye! I'll get cleaned up and then join you and the others in a bit."

"Sounds good. If you see Sage in the bathroom, tell him we're waiting on him too." Cye called as he pulled away and walked back to the dining room.

Ryo took off his sparring gloves and put them away. He walked over to a bench and picked up a towel as he wiped himself draping it over the back of his neck heading up to the main floor. Ryo always felt better after a training session. It helped him clear his mind. The thought of them settling into normal lives still felt foreign from their usual battling evil beings bent on world domination schemes. But in secret, he was relieved they didn't have to worry about anything close to it. The idea of what most people call a normal life was starting to feel good for a change. After a bit, he made it to his room and grabbed a change of clothes and then to the bathroom. He tried the door it was locked. "Hey, Sage are you still in the bathroom? I need to take a shower!"

Sage was absorbed in a stream of thoughts and reminiscences as he stared at himself in the mirror he didn't hear Ryo knocking, but snapped out of it when he heard Ryo's voice through the door. "Yeah, I'm coming!" He walked to the door and opened it. "Gomen, the bathroom is all yours now. I'll see you at the table."

Ryo moved out-of-the-way as he watched Sage walk by him and down the stairs. He frowned a bit, 'Sage, what's going on with you?' Ryo thought to himself as he headed into the bathroom.

'They want to ask, but they're holding back to see if I will tell them on my own. I appreciate them not pressing me about what's been on my mind. I'm not sure if I should bring them into it, these memories are of my past life before becoming a Ronin Warrior. They're my demons to conquer. Though I thought I had a long time ago, I guess not. Otherwise, why would these memories be resurfacing? They're directing me to something, but what? I guess the answers will show themselves in time.' Sage thought to himself as he made it to the table and sat down. "Ryo should be down in a bit, he's going to take a quick shower."

Cye sat down, "It's fine, we can wait for him." He glanced around the table, "Rowen, working on anything interesting?"

The blue-haired archer looked over towards him, 'When Kaye came to the study, I was chatting with someone about a few college courses which looked interesting to take next semester at the University."

Sage smirked as he glanced his way, "Rowen, it's summer break and you're already planning for next semester?"

Rowen smirked back with a slight shrug, "Well yeah, and it wouldn't hurt for the rest of you to plan too before all the good classes are taken."

Out of nowhere, Ryo popped into his seat and smirked when he saw a couple of them jump at his sudden arrival. He laughed.

"Ryo! Bloody Hell!"

Ryo laughed a bit more, "Sorry Cye, I couldn't help myself, I wanted to test out how much I've improved on sneaking from behind. I guess all the extra training is paying off, wouldn't you say?"

Cye narrowed his eyes at him, "Just you wait Ryo, you'll get yours."

The black-haired Ronin grinned as he went for his part of the main course. "I'll be waiting for it Cye, any place any time."

Cye smiled back with a small nod. He and the others followed Ryo's lead and took their portions of the main course as they ate their lunch.

After they ate and pitched in with clean up, they went into the living room and sat around the tv. Rowen had the remote in hand and turned on the news. There was a report stating a new race track was being built. "Hey! Now I bet it'll be interesting to have a new track in the city. It'll be something to go and check out sometime."

"Maybe, it'll be something different to do. It's fascinating to find out they're building it for people who would be interested in going into professional racing."

Ryo looked over at Rowen with a raised brow, "Were you interested in racing Rowen?"

Rowen shook his head, "Naw, not my thing. It's more Sage's interest...Shoot..." He realized what he said and glanced over towards the blonde Ronin who was glued to the screen. 'He didn't react to what I said just now about racing.' Rowen thought to himself as he studied him.

'No, it couldn't be...He's...' Sage thought to himself as he jerked up from his seat and grabbed the keys to his car.

Ryo, Rowen, Cye, and Kaye looked at one another in question. Kaye stood up and hurried over to him, "Hey Sage, hold on."

Sage stopped for a moment and glanced back. He didn't say anything as he waited for her to continue.

"Where are you going if you don't mind me asking?"

"To town."

"Mind if I join you? Kento is still in town with my car..."

"Come on," Sage replied as he walked out of the manor.

Kaye glanced back at the others, "I'll see you guys later." She waved to them and chased after Sage. Hearing his car's engine roar, she figured he was in a hurry and made her way out the door. Once in his car, she secured her seat belt just in the nick of time as he tore out of the driveway. 'What or who did Sage see to make him react the way he did? Was it what Rowen said about Sage being interested in racing? I haven't seen him this way since the last time we fought together. She glanced over towards him, "Sage..."

"Please Kaye, I don't want to talk about it. I know you and the others are concerned about me. But this is something I have to figure out for myself. It isn't anything any of you can do to help me. It's my burden to bear. I don't want to drag any of you into this, whatever this turns out to be. It might be something but then again it might be nothing."

Kaye thought about what he said as she settled back into her seat and stared forward. "Fair enough, but keep in mind, we have your back if you need us."

He glanced over with a small smirk, "Thanks, I'll remember." Sage turned his attention back to the road as they continued towards town.

On the side of the road, two others sat on the roof of their car watching others as they passed. "Nope, not him. Maverick, are you sure Sage is still living around these parts?"

"I know he is Reno. Don't worry little brother, the golden boy will get his. I promise you." Maverick spotted Sage in the driver seat in the car behind the next one and scrambled down to the driver's seat and revved the engine.

Reno hurried down and got into the passenger side, "How do you know it's him?"

"Because I did some digging. Found out what car he drives and where he lives, everything about him." Maverick narrowed his eyes as one hand had a death grip on the steering wheel while the other on the gear shift. "We will get our revenge." He peeled out from their parking spot and charged straight for Sage's car.

Kaye braced her hands to the dash when she spotted the car racing towards them. She felt her heart beating a mile a minute. "Sage!"

Sage's grip on the steering wheel intensified as he narrowed his eyes, "Hold on!" He saw the other vehicle charging at them had no intention of getting out-of-the-way. His adrenaline shot through him like he was on fire. This scenario brought him back to his street racing days. He felt alive, he was in his world as he increased in acceleration. The two cars were still heading for one another at top speed. Sage was brought back to the present when he heard Kaye scream as the car heading for them turned at the last possible moment and dinged the driver's backside which made him lose control of his car for a moment. He took his foot off of the accelerator and tried to regain control of his car.

The car Maverick and Reno were in whipped around and stopped as they watched Sage's car swung around and faced the other direction as it slowed to a more manageable speed. He stopped and threw it into the park.

Sage looked over towards her with concern, "Kaye...Kaye!"

Opening her eyes she looked over at Sage. Her breathing was ragged, but starting to calm down. Kaye's heart started to go back to normal. "I..I'm ok. What were you thinking?!"

"I.." Sage couldn't bring himself to explain what came over him.

Maverick drove towards Sage's car and pulled up next to it laughing.

Sage growled when he got out of his car, "Who do you think you are?"

Reno stepped out of his side and joined his brother, "Come now Sage, don't tell me you don't remember us? You should since you came close in killing my brother all those years ago."

Sage took a closer look and became pale, "Maverick...Reno..."

Maverick grinned, "Hello golden boy, it's been a while. Surprised to see us? Shocked to see I'm still alive? It took a long time, a lot of skin graphs, and physical therapy but I survived. Do you want to know what drove me to fight to live? It was the thought of you paying for what you've done."

Kaye got out of her side of Sage's car, she studied them. "Sage, what are they talking about?"

"Stay over there Kaye," Sage replied as he glanced towards her and then back at them.

Maverick and Reno glanced at one another and smirked. The brothers looked back at them. "It seems Sage hasn't told anyone of his past brother."

"Seems like it. Maybe we'll tell her all about his past life."

Sage narrowed his eyes at the brothers, "You'll stay away from her and everyone else in my life. This is between you and me Maverick, no one else needs to get involved."

"No can do golden boy. Anyone who is connected to you is involved automatically, you should know better than anyone how true it is. This is going to be so much fun to make you suffer, just like we did back in the day. But for now, we'll have to cut this little reunion short. We'll see you soon." Maverick replied with a cackle as he and his brother got into their car and drove away knowing Sage wouldn't risk going after them at the moment.

Sage took a close look where they hit his car, there was some damage but it wasn't enough to make it undrivable. They got back into his car, "Are you sure you're ok?"

Kaye glanced at him, "I was just a bit shaken but fine, no injuries. What about you?"

"I'm fine. Let's get to town so you can meet with Kento about your car. I have some things to take care of once I drop you off at the shop." Sage started the engine and took off towards town.

"Sage, this isn't over. Not by a long shot. The others and I are going to need to know the whole story. Is this what has bothered you for a while?"

Sage kept driving, his eyes stayed on the road, "In part, it isn't the whole story. But I will make sure to tell everyone everything considering now how dangerous it has become."

Kaye frowned a bit when she looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Please, don't say anything to anyone until I get back. This must come from me."

She turned her attention back to the road and gave a small nod, "Ok I won't say anything, but they are going to wonder why your car was in an accident."

Sage turned his gaze to her, "Everything will work out, I'll make sure of it. I promise."

It's been a long time since Sage has made such a promise. Kaye didn't know what to think, but she knew this much, she trusted him they've been through so much together so if Sage says it'll work out then it will.

"Fine, but on one condition, you tell us everything. Don't you dare leave anything out of your story."

Sage gave a smile as he nodded, "Fair enough, now to get you to the shop before Kento hunts us down." He turned his gaze back to the road and continued to drive.

It took about ten more minutes to get to the shop where Kento waited for their arrival.

"Hey, about time you two showed."

"Sorry, but we're here now," Kaye got out of Sage's car. "Thanks for the ride. See you back home."

Sage waved goodbye to them and then drove out of the shop's parking lot.

Kento turned his full attention towards her, "What took you two? Why does it look like Sage's car got into an accident? Either of you hurt?"

"We're fine, we just ran into some crazy driver on the way here who thought it would be fun to challenge people to street racing."

The orange Ronin quirked a brow towards her, something was off about her story, but as of late there was an increase of more street racing since summer started. "Just as long as you two are not hurt."

"No injuries, we're both good, so anyway, what did they find out with my car?"

"A few minor things, nothing major."

Kaye kissed him on the cheek and then smiled at him, "Thanks for bringing my car to the shop. I appreciate it."

Kento grinned, "So, um..."

Kaye gave a small laugh, "How about I treat you since you took care of my car."

Kento's eyes brightened and then took hold of Kaye and lifted her into the air. "Yes!" He set her down and took a hold of her hand as they left the shop.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, are we going to get the rest of the crew back together?" Reno asked as he pocketed his cell and walked over to his work station.

Maverick lowered his head and scowled at his hands, pain shot through his palms and up into his biceps. He grimaced a bit as his hands clenched. 'I thought after all this time the pain would be gone. I should have listened to the doctors instead of skipping out of the last rehab sessions. No! My vengeance on the golden boy is more important. I'll do whatever it takes to do what I have to to get what is mine!' After some time passed he opened them and looked up, he saw Reno watching him. "No, most of them are in prison. I've sent a text to a few stragglers from the old crew, plus a few new ones, they'll meet up with us later."

Reno raised a brow when he crossed his arms, "The pain is still bothering you I see. Did you run out of medication?"

Maverick growled low in his throat, "I don't need medication! All I need is for Date to experience the suffering I went through when he came close to taking my life."

"Don't worry bro, Sage will get what he has befallen to him when the time occurs. He will suffer and so will all of those he holds close. You'll get your revenge. I'll stay by your side the entire time and help you any way I can, and we will make him pay together."

Maverick sighed as he opened his hands and relaxed, "I know Reno. I appreciate you staying with me. Since you/ll be risking your parole."

Reno uncrossed his arms and smirked as he turned his attention back to his work station. "Family stays together through everything no matter what. Besides, I know you'd risk everything for me if the roles were reversed." He reached down for a controller and started it. His eyes watched as the drone took off from his workbench and hovered for a short time before he launched it towards his brother and let it hover in front of him.

Maverick looked up when he heard the whine of rotors in front of him. He glanced between the drone hovering in front of him and his brother. "I see you are still tinkering around with those things."

Reno chuckled as he pushed a sequence in his controller, and it did a flip backward in midair. "It's a drone Maverick. Get with the times' big brother. I can program this baby to do just about anything I want it to. It'll be helpful to us, just you wait and see. It's small enough to fly under any vehicle and disable it or by blowing it up if I wanted." He studied Maverick and saw a small smirk starting to form. "Would you like to see a demonstration?"

He stood and watched the drone as it continued to soar around in the air towards an open window. "Why would you want to waste a drone for a demonstration?"

Reno shook his head in amusement as he walked to the back door with the remote in his hands. "It won't be a waste. I have many more drones back in our garage." He glanced over at his brother, "So, are you coming?"

Maverick shrugged as he joined his brother's side. "Why not," the two of them walked out to the back and watched as the drone flew higher into the air.

Seriousness lurked in the depths of Reno's eyes when he programmed the drone with its next orders. The drone dove down and took a few passes over their heads as Reno then directed it to fly over a nearby lake. Plunging into the center and within a few seconds, a huge explosion sent a giant tidal wave into the sky and then crashed back down. Reno looked from the corner of his eye at Maverick and saw a satisfied grin upon his face. 'I knew it would get his attention.'

"Impressive Reno. I'm sold. Even though at first I was skeptical, but now you've convinced me how convenient these drones are after all. What else can they do?"

"Whatever I program. I piggybacked onto a military satellite without them knowing. So this way I can control the drones from any location. I will also be able to hack into any place which has a camera to nail down who we're looking for at any time. But the hacking into traffic cameras will take a little longer. It'll work out for us in the long run." Reno explained as he glanced at his brother.

Maverick smirked, "You still manage to impress me, little brother. Our parents always said you were the brains of the family."

"Hey, you're embarrassing me! Besides, I'd rather be the best driver in the city instead of the boring one."

"Reno, you're a lot of things, but boring is not one of them. Believe me, you'll make something out of yourself soon enough. Just give it time."

'Where is this coming from? Maverick never gave me praise like this before. Something's up.' Reno thought to himself as he studied him from the corner of his eye.

Maverick raised a brow, "What's with you? Can't take a few compliments?"

"No, nothing of the like. I appreciate what you said. Honest, I was just surprised. I haven't heard you talk this way."

Maverick shrugged a bit, "I talk this way all the time when the others from the crew ask about you."

Reno was taken back as he blinked in surprise. He smiled as he relaxed, "Let's go inside. I wouldn't doubt the explosion caught someone's attention and called it in to the cops."

Maverick reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell, "You go ahead, I'll catch up. I have a call to make."

"Can't you make it inside?" Reno asked with a slight frown.

"I don't get a clear connection in there for some reason. It won't take long."

Reno studied him and then shrugged, "Fine, I know better than to argue with you when you have your mind made up on something. I'll see you inside." He started to walk towards the door.

Maverick watched until Reno was inside and the door was shut. He dialed and waited for the other person to pick up. "Everything set?"

"Yeah, things are set to go over here Maverick. When..?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll be in contact soon enough. Just make sure everything stays as planned."

"I'm on it. Talk to you later."

Maverick hung up the call and then deleted it from his cell. He shoved it back into his pocket and made his way into the building where his brother was waiting.

Reno glanced at his brother as he came back inside, "Everything ok?"

Maverick waved off his concern, "Things are just fine. I was just checking up on something. It's nothing for you to be concerned."

"You say so," Reno replied as he went back to work on packing up his supplies. 'Maverick is acting a little off today. Who did he call? Why and what is he keeping from me?' Reno thought to himself as he moved from packing the supplies to powering down his computer.

Maverick walked over to his car and settled into the driver's seat, 'I know my brother, he suspects something. Don't blame him, I would too if he acted the same way. But he should be out of the loop with some things. He's already risking too much on his parole on me. He still is a kid. Reno has a good future just as long as he doesn't screw it up. Maybe in hindsight, I shouldn't have involved him in this vendetta. Well, it's too late now, he's in it for the long run.' Maverick mused as he played with his keys waiting for Reno to finish packing the car.

Reno finished powering down his computer and packed it up with the rest of his supplies. He threw them in the backseat and got into the passenger side. "Ready."

Maverick caught his keys and slid them into the ignition as he glanced over towards him, "Took you long enough. Grandma could move faster than you."

"Ha, ha funny man. Just drive," Reno shot back in a slight annoyance as he punched him in the shoulder.

Maverick chuckled and revved up the engine as the two of them pulled out of the garage and started back to their hideout.

Elsewhere...

"So?"

"So what?"

"Who was on the phone?"

"Maverick."

"Is there a change, or are things still a go?"

"Things are still a go so far. He wants us to keep with the plan."

"Can we trust him and his newly assembled crew or will we have to do things our way?"

"For now, we stick with the plan. Nothing changes. Not yet anyway. But if things start to go sideways, then we'll do what we need to stay on top of things."

"Either way, it's going to be one hell of a ride!"

"Yes, it will. Once the dust clears no one will know what hit them until it's too late. By the time it happens, we'll be long gone and they'll be taking the fall."

"This is our one moment, and it won't come again. So we'll have to play it close to our chest if we want to pull it off without a hitch. If we mess up, we're done."

"I understand what you're saying. We won't mess up, we planned for far too long. What about the others? Are they still with us in this?"

"Yes, they are behind our plan as well. They'll stick to what they have to do. Besides, they know what will happen if they go against us."

"Remember the reason why we are striking now. We are doing this for more than mere vengeance. We are taking back what is rightfully ours! Our crew will make sure they won't forget us long after everything settled! For all of what we sacrificed, this will be the time we will come out ahead of the others. We will be the ones who rule the streets! When people hear our name once more, they will tremble in fear! Our crew will have their respect back and no one will be stupid enough to challenge us ever again!"

"Once the plan is in place, there's no going back. It'll be an all-out turf war."

"I know, it's what I'm counting on."

"Seriously?"

"Look, if you don't have the stomach for it, tell me now, otherwise fall in line like everyone else. Unless you don't want to be my second any more? I can always recruit another who sees my vision."

"No Tobias, I was just making sure this is what you want."

"It is, now, go and inform the others the plan is still in play. I have a few things to finish and I'll meet with the rest of you in a bit." He watched as she left, when she was out of sight he proceeded into his office and closed his door.

Yayoi went a bit further and glanced back to see his office was out of sight. Reaching into her pocket, she felt her cell. 'No, I can't call in, it's too risky. I still have to play along until things calm down enough for me to check in with them. Besides, if I tip them off too soon, they'll figure out they have a snitch, and I'll be done.' Thinking to herself as Yayoi pulled her hand from her pocket and continued to make her way to inform the others everything is still in play.

Yayoi walked into the main room of the garage. She glanced around and saw the rest of the crew tinkering under the hoods of different street racers. This crew was a mix from the ones her brother Sage ran with a long time ago, along with some new racers from other parts of the world. The underground world of street racing started to become more and more public as the years passed. It was getting harder and harder to catch the crews who raced on the streets because of the new parts being delivered to the crews on the black markets from different countries. Plus with today's technology, it's easier to combine the foreign parts. Glancing at her watch, Yayoi grumbled under her breath about how her father is going to blow a gasket because she missed her check-in time. It couldn't be helped, she didn't have the opportunity and he's going to have to accept it no matter if he likes it or not. Now she understood why Sage broke ties with the family after their fight when he was imprisoned for racing a second time. But it didn't make it right. Family is all a person has when one gets down to it. If only Sage and their father would stop being so pig-headed and move past it.

"Yo! Yayoi!"

The loud, heavy voice snapped Yayoi out of her thoughts, she looked towards him. "Yeah?"

"Boss ready?"

"He'll be out soon. He's finishing a few things, gather up the others and let them know. I have an errand to run. I'll be back later." Yayoi replied as she walked past him with keys in her hand.

Tobias walked up to the racer with a frown, "Where's she going?"

"All Yayoi said she's going on an errand."

"Follow her, but don't let Yayoi see you. Let me know everything."

"If she does see me following her?"

Tobias narrowed his eyes, "Then take care of it by any means necessary."

"You think..."

"It's a hunch, just take care of the situation."

"Yayoi is your second. You don't trust her boss?"

"I don't trust anyone. Now, get going!"

"Yes, boss!"

Tobias watched him as he raced out the door. For a long time now, he thought it was too easy how Yayoi got jumped into his crew. One day she challenged his best racer and won on a bet. Stupid. The racer's arrogance got the best of him and Yayoi shot right past him at the last moment. To say the least, Tobias did not tolerate failures. He had taken care of business and the racer was never found again. Rumors went around saying Tobias killed the racer who lost and got rid of the body. But there was no proof. So the other racers were told they were never to speak of this ever again but to remember what happens if they fail him. Tobias shook his head and walked through the center of the room towards the platform.

The crew stopped what they were doing and turned their entire focus upon their boss. The entire garage was silent as they waited for Tobias to speak.

"I received a call from Maverick. Everything is coming together. Soon enough this city will remember who we are and what we stand for once again! We are not to be trifled with! No one will be able to stand in our way! No cop on any level will be able to take us down ever again! We will rule these streets once more! People will either fear us or they will join! Our wrath will incinerate this city to the core! The ones who wronged us will pay! Those who betrayed us will find out how much of a mistake it was to cross our crew! Those who imprisoned us will know what it's like to be hunted! We will rule these city streets once more, and there will be no one who will be able to stop us!"

Cheering erupted from every racer in the garage. The name of Tobias has chanted over and over again, getting louder each time.

Tobias smirked with arms crossed as he looked over them.

Meanwhile...

Yayoi shifted into a higher gear as she found herself on the open road. Gripping the wheel, she launched the accelerator to the floor and the engine roared. Yayoi understood why Sage found street racing so addicting. The adrenaline rush alone was the best she ever felt, it made her feel alive. The freedom of the road, no rules, no one telling her what to do or how to act. But then a glimpse of someone in her review mirror made her scowl. 'Great, Tobias has one of his drivers following me. I should have figured this was going to happen sooner or later. I can't let him follow me to the meeting place. I'll be exposed for sure and he'll go back and inform Tobias. I'll have to try and get rid of this loser.'

The driver narrowed his eyes as he saw Yayoi pulling ahead even more. He shifted into the next gear and started to gain ground. Tobias was right in suspecting Yayoi, but of what he wasn't sure. It didn't matter he had a job to do and there was no way he had any intention of failing. He punched the pedal to the floor and started to gain ground. Fender and bumper clashed with one another,

Yayoi's car jerked a bit when she felt the impact. She growled and did her best to keep her car in control. 'You want to play dirty! Fine! We'll do this the hard way!' Yayoi saw she was coming upon traffic. 'Great, just great.' Yayoi was doing her best to weave between the cars and doing what she could not to hit anyone in the process. She didn't need sending someone to the hospital on her conscious because of this crazy chase.

The driver behind her stayed close on Yayoi's tail. He weaved right along with her, left, right, left, right... He gritted his teeth when he just passed an unmarked car not noticing the driver of it was calling something in by radio. He dismissed the unmarked car and continued his pursuit.

Yayoi glanced to the side when she saw him coming upon her from behind. She whipped her car and banged it into his then raced on ahead.

He yelped when he felt the jarring from the hit. Growling he shifted into his highest gear and gunned ahead. He caught up to her and the two of them raced side by side. One car going slightly ahead of the other and then the second car catching up and going ahead. Back and forth they went until another vehicle came around a corner. The driver who was chasing Yayoi banked his car hard as it could go to the right and banged so hard into her car it rolled over and over again until it landed on the roof and started to spin. The driver who chased her took off without looking back as he raced away.

The unmarked car came upon the scene and called it in again. He jumped out of his vehicle and ran over to the spinning car. "Hey! Can you hear me!? Are you hurt?!" When he got no answer, he could see the driver, she was unconscious and bleeding. He hurried and placed his hands on the car and tried to stop it from spinning. It took a bit, but after a while, he got it to stop, just as he did the paramedics and law enforcement arrived at the scene.

Orders were yelled out to pry the driver's door open. It took some time but they did get them open. The next step was to be as careful as they could to cut her out of the seat belt since it was jammed. Once she was freed, they slid her from the driver's seat and onto a gurney. The EMTs started assessing once they got her into the back of the ambulance. The driver called in the accident while the authorities taped off the scene.


	3. Chapter 3

Dr. Date was at the reception desk checking over the paperwork from the last of her rounds. Getting ready to go on break, she almost ran into the medical team rushing in their latest patient. Dr. Date heard the words drastic car accident and a young woman as they raced past. She scowled as they passed her almost getting run over by them in the process. Making a mental note to lecture them about safety in the hospital even with a patient. But just then she took a second look before the medical team banked left at the next corner. Icy tendrils robbed her of any kind of movement. Breathing hitched in her throat as she felt her blood run cold. Dr. Date's heart hammered in her chest as her nails dug into the palms of her hands. The face she saw flashed again in her mind, there was no doubt the medical team raced into the emergency room was her oldest daughter, Yayoi.

For years she always informed the loved ones of the people who are rushed to the emergency room are in the best of hands. They would do everything in their power to do what they could to make sure the patient is reunited with their loved ones waiting for them. This time around, her professionalism was wiped clean and her role as a mother took over instead. Dr, Date wanted so much to be by Yayoi's side, but she knew in hindsight it was not possible. The doctors knew everyone in the Date family so they wouldn't let Dr. Date join in the emergency room. They would say she wouldn't be clear-headed enough to do her job, and she knew they would be right. So the only thing Dr. Date could do was inform the rest of her family. Finding the nearest phone and trying to find the courage to call the rest of her family. Dr. Date's fingers trembled as they reached for the menu for the contact list.

The head nurse saw how distraught Dr. Date was and told her to please take a seat next to the nurse's station as she would call the others for her.

Dr. Date gave a numb nod as she waited in anticipation for the rest of her family to arrive. As she waiting anxiously, she started to wonder how could have Yayoi gotten into a car accident Yayoi was the most attentive driver she knew. She and her husband made sure Yayoi knew the traffic laws forward and backward. They practiced over and over again to perfection every possible driving scenario the two of them could think of. Dr. Date and her husband were going to make sure their oldest would be safe. But in hindsight, the one thing they didn't count on were the other drivers out on the road. So many conditions from intoxication, being high, overtired from working too many hours, or someone just learning how to drive plus so many other factors raced through her head. She was so consumed by her thoughts, Dr. Date didn't hear the head nurse addressing her.

"Dr. Date, Doctor!"

Snapping her attention to the head nurse, Dr. Date gave a small sigh, "Gomen, I guess you can say I'm having one of those it's happening to me moments."

The head nurse sat down next to her, "Don't worry, we have the absolute best doctors on staff here. It's like you always tell the other families who come in, right."

She gave a small nod, "Yes, but now I truly understand how they feel. It's frightening to know it's your child in the emergency room. Waiting out there, not knowing..."

"Yayoi, she's a fighter, just like all the Dates. She will pull through. Before I came over, I got a hold of your husband and he's coming down. Another nurse is trying for your other daughter and your son."

Dr. Date's eyes lowered at the mention of her son. "Sage. We haven't heard from him in years. Even though we're nearly in the same city, we don't see one another. It shouldn't have to take something this drastic to bring all of us together."

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll come."

"I just hope they don't cause a scene. It's the last thing we need at this point. Especially between Sage and his father."

The head nurse frowned a bit at the doctor's statement because she wasn't entirely sure about her meaning. But whatever the case, it wasn't her business to know. If the doctor wanted the head nurse to know her family's problems, she would have talked to her about them a long time ago. Something told her there would be a slight possibility they'll find out soon enough.

Dr. Date felt a little stronger as she brought her hands to her lap. They weren't shaking anymore. She gave an internal sigh of relief and then went to her contacts and scrolled until she found a number where she might be able to find Sage.

"Hello, Koji residence, Rowen speaking."

"Rowen, it's Dr. Date. Is Sage there, I need to speak to him."

The blue-haired archer frowned when he heard the tone of her voice. It wasn't the strong professional tone he was used to hearing when she called, it was broken, "Dr. Date, what's wrong?"

"It's a family emergency. I need to speak to my son. Is he there or not Rowen?"

"I'm sorry, Sage isn't here right now, he took Kaye into the city to meet up with Kento about her car at some shop." Rowen replied as he didn't want to bring on any more tension.

"Thank you."

"Dr. Date, wait!" Rowen tried to continue the conversation but she cut it short. "Damn," He hung up the phone and turned around with a concerned expression.

Ryo and Cye walked over towards him, "Rowen?"

He looked at the two and explained to him the weird phone call he got from Sage's mom.

Cye frowned in concern, "Sounds serious. I think we'd better go out and see if we can track him down and let him know about this."

Ryo gave a nod, "Good idea Cye. We might as well let Kento and Kaye know since they are in the city. It might be possible Sage could still be with them."

Cye reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell and dialed. He waited for the person on the other end to receive his call.

"Cye? Hi, yes I'm with Kento. No, Sage isn't with us. He dropped me off and drove away. Sage told us he had some things to do and he would come home later." Biting her lip she glanced at Kento.

He looked up from his food and looked at her. Kento saw the look of concern laced in her eyes. He frowned a bit and mouthed what's going on?

Kaye held up her index finger which signaled hold on a minute. "Yes, we'll see if we can track Sage down Cye. Thanks for letting me know. I'll call back if we find him." She hung up and put her cell in her pocket. Turning her attention towards Kento she filled him on what Cye told her.

Kento stood up and left the restaurant with Kaye in tow. The two of them hurried over towards the nearby car shop and picked up Kaye's car. They got in and drove away as they started their search for Sage.

"So, Dr. Date didn't tell Rowen the reason why she was looking for Sage?" Kento asked as he was looking for any sign of Sage's car.

Kaye shook her head as she continued to drive, "No, he said she was cryptic on the phone. She wasn't her professional self when she was talking to him. He said she sounded broken or something."

"Then I hope we find him and soon. Did Cye say what we were supposed to say to Sage when either we or the others find him?"

"He's supposed to go to the hospital as soon as possible."

Kento frowned, "The hospital? Think something happened to someone in their family?"

"It's possible I guess. But instead of speculating, let's concentrate on finding him and then we can figure out the rest later." Kaye concentrated more on the traffic as her thoughts raced through her head. 'Sage...Did Maverick get to your family so soon? Is this what you were concerned about when we faced the two of them earlier?'

Ryo and Rowen looked at Cye as he put his cell away. "Well?"

Cye looked up at them, "Kaye said Sage left as soon as he dropped her off at the car shop. Said he was still acting weird. But she and Kento will start their search and we'll meet up with them when we can."

Ryo gave a nod, "Fine, let's get going. The longer we stand here the longer it'll take to find him."

Rowen hurried to the counter and grabbed his keys. Ryo and Cye hurried after him. Most of the time they were concerned with being able to survive with Rowen's driving. He wasn't a bad driver, he was just a bit anxious, they all wondered if it was because he learned when he was in New York for the summer with his mom. They do say Americans are crazy drivers. But then again, who isn't a crazy driver? Now wasn't the time to get into their usual debate of driving, they had to find Sage and in a hurry.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Sage continued to drive looking for the car shop he had in mind to take have someone work on his car. He glanced at his cell, another call. He didn't have the time today to be answering his cell. To be honest, he was starting to get annoyed by the continuous ringing. 'They can leave a message if it's so important. I'll check it when I stop.' Sage stopped at the next light as the meeting with Maverick and Reno came back to him. He knew if those two were out, then there had to be trouble. Why or even better question, when did they get released? Why wasn't he notified? He figured his so-called father didn't want him to know the two he raced with were out of prison. 'I don't understand after all this time, why doesn't he move past the fact I messed up. I was a kid at the time. He should have been more supportive instead of constantly barking at me and trying to have me be his perfect son!'

A roar of an engine brought Sage out of his thoughts. He glanced at the car parked beside him as he revved his engine, challenging for a race.

Sage turned his attention away and ignored the driver the best he could. He glanced down at his cell again as it rang once more. He was beyond annoyed and starting to lose his cool a little.

The other driver revved his engine once more, "Come on golden boy! Race me or have you lost your nerve!"

'What?! What did he just call me? How did he know my old name?' Sage thought to himself in astonishment. Narrowing his eyes and glared over at the other driver. 'Fine, if this baka wants a race, then he'll get one.' Turning his attention back to the light he grabbed his wheel with one hand and placed the other on the gear shift. Sage did a quick scan of the road up ahead, within a block he recognized the front tip of a patrol car. He was betting the cop was more than ready to pick up anyone who dared to challenge anyone in a street race. One more glance to the side of the other driver it seemed he didn't notice the patrol car a block ahead.

"Show me what you got golden boy! I've heard stories about how good you use to be back in the day. I'm betting you haven't raced in years. You lost your touch."

Sage smirked, "I guess we'll find out soon enough," He replied turning his attention towards the light just in time to see it change. At the same time, Sage heard tires squeal from the other driver as he took his hand away from the gear shift and just let him speed pst him.

The challenger glanced back and saw Sage standing up in his car with a giant smile and waved. He scowled and wondered what he was being so smart about, and then it hit him, a siren wailed right behind him as soon as he passed where the patrol car was waiting. 'Damn! A cop!'

Sage watched a bit in amusement as the challenger was trying to outrun the patrol car. He chuckled as he recognized it, this particular prowler came from his father's prescient. Sage watched until the two were out of sight, he figured the challenger would get caught soon enough. He heard someone honk behind him. Sage glanced back, "Gomen!" He slid back down into his driver's seat and turned the corner. 'At least one good thing happened today.' Sage drove a few more blocks and then pulled into the nearest parking lot. Sighing he decided to check on his cell. He frowned when he saw all the missed calls he had, around eight from the hospital. 'What?' He scrolled through some more and saw at least six more from his friends. Sage went to voice mail and listened to the first message he came across. "Mr. Sage Date, this is the head nurse calling you in regards to a family emergency here at the hospital. You're older sister Yayoi is in the emergency room. You are needed at the hospital as soon as possible."

Sage's eyes went wide and then he listened quickly to the other voice mails. They were close to the same message from the hospital or his friends out looking for him. He threw his cell to the floor and raced out of the parking lot. He knew a few short cuts to get to the hospital.

"Mother, how long has Yayoi been in the emergency room?"

"It's been," Dr. Date glanced up towards the clock and then back to Satsuki, "close to an hour. Don't worry, they're doing everything they can to stabilize your sister."

"You'd think Sage would be here by now. Where is he anyway?"

Satsuki looked over towards him, "Sage will be here father. I know he will. Plus his friends are out looking for him."

"You have too much faith in your brother."

"Your father, don't have any faith in me at all. Seems after all these years nothing has changed." Sage replied as he walked into the waiting room. "Mother, Satsuki, sorry I'm late."

Satsuki got up and embraced him, "I'm just relieved you're here, it's been an hour since they took Yayoi to the emergency room. We still haven't heard anything."

Sage hugged her back, "Yayoi will pull through stronger than before, you'll see."

His eyes gleamed as he snapped his attention towards his son, his voice rough and loud, "You will address me properly!"

Sage glared back at him as he directed his sister behind him, "Why should I? You didn't care what I had to say then and you don't care what I have to say now!"

Dr. Date looked between them, "Both of you, enough! This is not the time nor the place to argue with one another. This is a hospital. If you two are going to continue, then go outside."

But the two had no intention of taking her words as they continued to argue with one another.

"I am and I always will be your father Sage! So I am telling you to show your respect to me otherwise..."

Sage narrowed his eyes even more, "Or what? You'll haul me off to jail? Please, father, you talk about showing you respect, why don't you show me the same? Besides, ever since back then, you always held it against me I didn't go along with your rules! Every single day! All you did was talk down to me and tell me I needed to shape up or ship out. Well, guess what father, I shipped out a long time ago. I'm my own man now, and you can't be ordering me around anymore."

Other staff and people in the waiting room whispered to one another. Some were recording their banter on their cells while the staff behind the nurses' station called for security.

Dr. Date got between father and son as she glared at the two, "Enough! You are in a hospital! Yayoi is in the emergency room and you're here having a shouting match!"

Sage stepped back and calmed himself, "Gomen mother. I'll leave, I know where I'm not needed. I'll come back later when Yayoi is in recovery. Please keep me informed."

"Sage, wait, you don't have to leave." Dr. Date said, "At least hang around until Yayoi is out of the emergency room."

Sage turned his back on his father, "Fine, I'll stay. But as soon as we hear she's stable I'm gone." He walked towards the doorway and watched for his older sister to get out of surgery.

Dr. Date watched her son for a bit longer and then turned her attention towards her husband, "Today was the first time in years all of us came together and you two just had to fight right in the middle of the waiting room."

Commissioner General Date sighed, "Gomen, I'm just concerned."

"I know, we all are, but fighting in a public place with all these people watching is not good for anyone. Someday, you and Sage will have to talk it out about what happened and why this family is broken. But for now, we all need to keep our spirits high and hope everything goes well for Yayoi's surgery." Dr. Date reasoned as she walked past her husband and saw the hospital security appear. She told them everything was fine now and they could go back to their posts. Dr. Date walked around to each of the people in the waiting room and apologized for what happened. Once she was finished Dr. Date walked back to her husband and sat down with him.

Satsuki approached her brother, "Sage. Yayoi will be ok right?'

Sage looked down towards her with soft eyes, "Yayoi will be just fine. She's strong, she is a Date after all."

Satuski gave a small smile as she nodded, "You're right. I just hope this doesn't blow her cover...Oops."

Raising a brow his tone was a bit confused, "What are you talking about Satuski? What do you mean by her cover?"

Biting her lip she waiting a bit before saying anything else. She knew her brother wasn't going to like what she was going to tell him. "Sage, before I tell you, promise me you won't get into another fight with father."

"Satuski..."

"Promise me, Sage, otherwise, I won't tell you."

Sage frowned a bit as he glanced back at his parents and then back towards her and sighed, "Fine, I promise."

Satuski waited a few more minutes and made her decision, "You know Yayoi is an undercover detective at the prescient right?"

"Yes. Go on."

"Well, she was assigned to investigate one of the crews who have been street racing."

Sage was a bit taken back by what she told him, "Who assigned her to the investigation?"

"Father."

Taken back Sage whipped his attention straight back to his father, this time catching his sight. He narrowed his eyes towards him. Tightening his fists, his fingers dug deep into the palm of his hands. 'After what he and I went through when I was street racing, he dared to throw Yayoi into the same dangerous situation! Bastard!' Sage thought to himself as he tore his sight away from him. "Satuski, how did you find out about this?"

"Well, I overheard them talking one night at home. They didn't know I was awake, so I saw his study door slightly open and I saw the two of them talking. Mom was working so she didn't know, I'm not sure if father told her yet or not, but I did notice a few days later they were a little tense with one another for a while. So I'm guessing either she figured it out or he told her." Satuski explained, "Look, Sage, I'm sorry. You should have been informed before this."

Sage opened his hands and did a few breathing techniques to calm himself. "You have nothing to apologize for Satuski. I appreciate you telling me. When father and Yayoi were talking, did you by chance catch the name of the crew she was supposed to be investigating?"

"I didn't catch the name, but I do recall them mentioning the old racing crew you hung around with from a few years ago."


	4. Chapter 4

'Was the reason father assigned Yayoi to the old crew because Maverick and Reno are out of prison? I can't believe he would sink so low, wait, yes I can believe it. It's just like him. He would do anything to get what he wants no matter the cost.' Sage reasoned to himself.

Satsuki saw the doctor emerge out of the emergency room, "Sage. Sage! Hey! The doctor is coming."

Sage's thoughts were broken by his sister's voice. He looked down at her and then at the doctor walking over towards them. "Doctor, how's Yayoi?"

Dr. Date and her husband looked up when they heard Sage ask his question. The two of them stood and walked over so they could hear.

"Yayoi came out of the surgery just fine. She'll be back to herself soon enough. We're going to keep her for a while for observation. We already made plans to have her stay in the private sector where it's quieter."

Dr. Date gave a small smile as she clutched her husband's hand. "Thank you. How soon can we see her?"

"I'd say in a few hours. She needs to rest. If you will excuse me, I need to go back to my rounds and finish a few things. The doctor gave the family a nod and went along his way.

Commissioner General Date squeezed his wife's hand in return and then let go. "I'm going to talk with the head of security here and then I have to get back to the prescient. If there are any changes, don't hesitate to call me."

Satsuki looked over towards him in slight confusion, "What do you need to talk with them about father?"

"I'm going to see if they will put a couple of temporary guards outside of Yayoi's room just until I can get a couple of them assigned from my prescient."

Sage raised a brow as he crossed his arms glaring at his father, "Why would Yayoi be needing guards at her door? You think whoever did this to Yayoi will come back and finish the job once they find out she's out of surgery?"

Commissioner General Date narrowed his eyes at his son, "My reasons are my own. This is a police matter."

"No, this is a family matter. But I guess what the rest of us have to say doesn't count. Because your last word is the law. Right father?"

"Sage, you're trying my patience!"

Dr. Date got between them, she had more than she could take with their arguing. "Enough! You two are not going to have another fight. Not here, not now. If you two keep this up, I will find a way to bar you both from the hospital."

Sage and his father blinked in surprise when they heard her say those words. "Mother..."

"I have had more than enough of you two fighting with one another. We are a family. We are supposed to support one another, not be at each other's throats. Yes, you two need to fix whatever happened, but this is not the time nor the place. So, until there is peace between the two of you and everything is settled. You are both barred from seeing Yayoi."

Sage could see how serious his mother's words were, her tone was sharp and harsh. Her eyes held a fire he hasn't seen in them for quite a while. She was dead serious. He looked over at his father and saw he was just as taken back from her words.

Commissioner General Date studied Sage and then turned his back on him, "I'm going to go and talk with the head of security, then back to work. I"ll see you at home." Walking away from his family without glancing back at all.

Satsuki looked towards her brother, "Don't worry Sage. Father will come around."

"I wouldn't hold my breath little sister, but what's more important is Yayoi is going to recover." Sage replied as he glanced at her and then turned his attention towards his mother, "Gomen mother, I know fighting with him wouldn't solve anything. I've tried talking to him a year ago, but it just didn't work."

Dr. Date looked at her son with soft eyes, "Your father said the same thing about you. Both you and your father are too stubborn to get together and do some real talking. This feud between the two of you has gone on long enough. I want us to be a family again. Is it too much to ask?"

Sage shook his head, "No, I guess not." Just as he was going to continue his cell rang. Reaching in he pulled it out and saw the caller Id recognized it as Ryo. "Hey Ryo, Yes, I'm at the hospital. You're where? Rowen's pulling into the parking lot? Ok, I'll see you guys." Hanging up he pocketed his cell. "I'm going to meet my friends. If you need anything, let me know and please keep me updated on Yayoi."

Dr. Date gave a nod as she held Satsuki close to her while the two of them watch Sage leave.

While Sage was walking, his thoughts whirled with questions he didn't notice someone standing in the corner peering over a magazine watching them. It was the same guy who knocked Yayoi off of the road. He arrived at the hospital to follow up on what happened after the crash. He heard talk of a girl getting wheeled into the emergency room from being in a car accident. He figured out it was Yayoi. The guy also heard she was out of surgery and was put up in the private sector. Setting the magazine down on the nearest table he walked down the hall. Close to arrival, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the hospital security setting up just outside of Yayoi's room. Grumbling under his breath, he decided it was time to leave and let Tobias know what has happened so far. He made it to an abandoned staircase and put in a call. "Tobias..."

"Yes, what is it? Did you get the job done?"

"I did, Yayoi was rushed to the hospital, but she is under guard in the private sector."

"You baka! You were supposed to finish her not, never mind, I have a different job for you."

"Gomen! I..."

"Just shut up and listen to me! I want you to go to Yayoi's house and go through it. I want you to see if you can find anything she might have kept on our crew. If you find anything, do whatever you can to get rid of any evidence. We don't need anything tracing back to us. Am I clear?"

"Crystal clear. I won't mess up."

"You better not! Because if you mess up this time, you won't be getting a third chance to make things right by me." Tobias warned as he hung up his cell and put it away.

The timing couldn't have been any better, as soon as Sage made it to the garage, Rowen pulled into the parking spot next to Sage's car. The blue-haired archer opened the driver's door and took a step out of his car. "Hey, Sage is everything all right?"

Sage slid his hands into his pockets as he looked at his friends, "Yayoi was in a car accident today. She just got out of surgery."

The three other Ronins glanced at one another and then turned their attention back to him, "WHAT!?"

Sage yanked his hands from his pockets and raised them in a whoa wait for a minute calm down motion. "Yayoi is fine. She's in recovery in the private sector with a couple of guards at her door."

Cye frowned a bit, "I don't understand, why would she need guards at her door?"

"Seems like father thought it was prudent to put them there until the case was closed. They're starting with hospital security then switching to cops from my father's prescient." Sage started to explain, "Mind if we go home? There's more I need to tell all of you and it would be better if we were all together. It'll save me time on repeating myself later."

"Yeah sure Sage," Rowen replied with a glance at the other two. "Hey, you'll be ok driving back home?"

Sage lowered his hands and fished out his keys, as he walked to the driver's side and unlocked it, he glanced over towards him, "I can still drive. So I'll be fine."

Ryo jumped out of Rowen's car and climbed into Sage's, "I'll ride with you."

Sage scowled a bit at Ryo, his tone a little harsh, "I said, I'd be fine Ryo."

Ryo shook his head as he buckled himself into the passenger seat, "I'm already here so might as well get in." Glancing over towards the other two, "Call Kento and let him know we met up with Sage and we're all heading back home."

Cye waved as he settled into Rowen's car and dialed Kento's cell. The two of them did a quick talk and Cye hung up just as Rowen slid back down into the driver's seat and started his car.

Sage got in and started his car, glancing at Ryo and then back to the review mirror, "I could have driven myself home."

"I know, I just thought you'd like some company is all or is it a problem?"

"No, no problem here," Sage replied as he pulled out into the busy street on the way home. He glanced back and saw Rowen and Cye weren't too far behind them.

Ryo glanced over at Sage, he picked up on a lot of tension radiating from him. More than he dealt with for a long time. 'Why is Sage so tense? Something else happens at the hospital? Or is he just concerned about Yayoi? He hasn't been this tense since our past battles with our armors. This seems different though.'

Meanwhile, in a different part of the city, Kento was informing Kaye of the latest call he received from Cye.

"Sage didn't tell them what's been going on yet?" Kaye asked as she kept her eyes on the road while they were heading back to the manor.

Kento shook his head, "No, he wanted all of us to be together so he wouldn't have to repeat his story."

"I guess it makes sense, at least Yayoi is all right."

"Whatever Sage's explanation is, it better be good. Because I'm getting tired of his attitude it's starting to rub off on me the wrong way."

"Kento, would you please just hear him out before you jump to the wrong conclusion?"

The orange Ronin raised a brow towards her as he crossed his arms, "Me? Jump to conclusions? Since when?"

"Well let's see, what about the time you told me about when all of you ended up going to New York chasing Sage's armor all over the city..."

"Ah well, um, she jumped out of nowhere with a knife towards Rowen and Ryo. How were Cye and I suppose to have known she was on our side?"

Kaye gave a small laugh, "You just proved my point."

Kento gave a sheepish expression, "Heh, I guess so, but I've gotten better." He uncrossed his arms and reached down for his cell. Switching over to his news app he frowned when he saw a report of a fight being recorded. Most of the time Kento would be amped for a fight, but with this one not so much. He watched it all the way through and glanced over towards her. "Kaye, pull over for a second, you need to see this."

Kaye glanced towards him as she was still driving, "Kento..."

"It's important, please, just pull over to the side of the road."

Kaye sighed and glanced towards him as she saw a seriousness in his eyes. So she slowed down and pulled over to the side putting the car into the park she turned around and faced him. "Alright, what's so important you had me... Oh..." Not believing what she was seeing she watched as Kento played the footage once again. It was the footage of Sage and his father yelling at one another in the hospital waiting room. When she finished watching Kaye looked up towards Kento, "I wonder if they know about this?"

Kento shoved his cell into his pocket, "I don't think so, at least not yet. But once they do, it won't be good."

Kaye repositioned herself in the driver's seat, "Then we'd better hurry up and get home so we can let them know about this." She took off from her parking spot and started driving back to the manor.

At the police station, Commissioner General Date gathered the undercover unit in for a meeting. "As all of you know detective Date was in a car accident this morning. Her surgery went well and she's in recovery in the private sector. I'm having officers stand guard at her room for a precaution. I'm betting once whoever caused detective Date's accident isn't finished and will come back to try and finish the job."

"Sir, you believe someone from Tobias's crew did this?"

Commissioner General Date gave a nod, "I do. The hard part is trying to prove which one and if Tobias was the one who ordered one fo his drivers to cause the accident."

"Her car is in the police impound, but it'll be a while before anyone can look it over for evidence. The labs are backed up with other cases."

"I don't care what has to be done! I want the evidence from detective Date's car as soon as possible! Do I make myself clear!?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Commissioner General Date glared at the detectives across the room. He knew deep down he was making this personal, and why not the one who got hurt was his daughter. But he also knew she wanted this case. She was just as stubborn as the rest of the Dates. Sometimes he thought Yayoi taught Sage a few things about setting his mind on something. If he told Sage Yayoi wanted to investigate his old street racing crew, he wouldn't believe him. Yayoi kept dogging him over and over until he finally caved and handed the case to her. He wasn't sure what she saw in the case for her reason to want it so badly. But he figured her reasons were her own. "Since detective Date was our main way into Tobial's crew we'll have to figure out another way in or to go with an entirely different crew altogether."

"You mean Maverick and Reno's crew sir?"

"Yes, the problem is they can recognize most of you here since we were all around when they were all busted around the same time."

A knock on the door interrupted their meeting, "Sir, sorry to interrupt but you might want to see this. It's important."

"We're in the middle fo a meeting, can't it wait?"

"No, sir. Please, I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't extremely important."

Commissioner General Date sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Fine, come inside but shut the door behind you."

The officer gave a nod and came in as he shut the door behind him, "This has been playing all day on the news app and the internet."

Everyone turned their attention to the video feed. The undercover unit whispered among themselves when they were watching their Commissioner General and his son arguing in the waiting room of the hospital.

"Shut it off! I said shut it off now!" Commissioner General Date ordered.

"Yes...Yes, sir!" The officer replied as he quickly turned off the video. "Gomen sir, but I just thought you'd want to know."

Commissioner General Date started to collect himself, 'Great, just great another headache to add to the stress I'm already receiving from the administration about shutting down these street races. This is going to be a public relations nightmare. Since it's already viral, I wouldn't doubt it'll be in the morning paper.' Frowning deeper his thoughts went back to the fight he had with his son at the hospital, 'Wait just how did this footage of my son and I fighting to get viral so fast? Now, I remember people were recording us then. I should have figured it out sooner and confiscated their phones. But I didn't. Anyone else would have taken the phones and erased the recordings. I was so distracted by my emotions I let them get the better of me.'

"What are your orders, sir?"

Glancing around the room, he took his time to try and figure out his next move. "For now, go back to your current cases. I'll figure something out for this one and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. You're dismissed."

In their new shop, Reno was watching the news feed on his cell to see about the local chatter. Not much got his attention except for two stories. One was about the car crash and the other about a fight in a hospital's waiting room. "Hey Maverick! Come here! You've got to see this!"

Maverick glanced up towards his brother from under the hood with a wrench in his hand. "I'm not in the mood for those dorky videos you watch bro. You know better than to interrupt me when I'm working on my car."

Reno rubbed the back of his head, "Gomen, but I do think you should see these stories. They're about the Dates, I just thought they'd pique your interest, but if you're not then I'll just..."

Maverick raised a brow towards his brother and laid down his wrench. He picked up a rag and wiped his hands as he made his way over to him. "What are you talking about?"

"It seems like golden boy is not having the best of days. Take a look for yourself." Reno replied as he handed his brother the cell and got both videos ready to play for him.

Maverick watched the first video story about Yayoi being in a car accident today, and the other one the fight with Sage and his father. Maverick had a laugh launched deep from his throat. "This is priceless! First the encounter with us and now these two stories. It looks like it just isn't golden boy's day."

"Think he knows about their fight being online?"

"No idea, but it doesn't matter to me if he knows or not. It just shows to me golden boy and his father are still at odds with one another. It's just too perfect."

Reno frowned a bit when he took back his cell, "I wonder though if it was all an act at the hospital? Do you think they could have staged the fight?"

Maverick shook his head, "No, there was no way to stage something so intense. Those two still haven't patched things up from all those years ago. Date hasn't talked to his father since he left the family."

"Ok, then what about the car accident with the other story? Where his older sister was in the car accident?"

"I have an idea about it, but I'll check on my hunch later when I check in with Tobias. He was telling me he had some things to take care of."

Reno hopped onto a crate and sat on it, "You told me about Tobias but you never introduced me to him. Why?"

"He's new to our crew little bro. So you don't need to worry yourself over him. You just do your thing. Tobias and his crew combined with ours will run these streets! So just relax, I have everything well in hand." Maverick explained, "I have work to finish on my car, don't you have something to finish as well?"

"Yeah, yeah alright, I'm going. I do have a few programs to run anyway." Reno replied as he hopped down to the ground and walked over to his computer. 'Just because you trust Tobias. It doesn't mean I do. There's something about him you're not telling me bro and I'll find out what it is one way or another.'


	5. Chapter 5

"Alright Sage, are you going to tell us the whole story now of why you've been acting so bizarre, or do we have to play twenty questions?"

"Kento..." Kaye said in a warning tone as she looked over at him.

Holding his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright I'll back off. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who was thinking the same thing."

Sage sighed, his eyes closed as he thought back to the days. "What I'm about to tell you is what I lived through before meeting most of you. Towards the end, I met Rowen so he knows the last bit of my story but not all of it."

Cye raised a brow when he glanced at the archer, 'So it's the reason why Rowen was kicking himself earlier when we were watching the report about the new race track opening. He realized he slipped up and mentioned racing was Sage's interest. But why would they hide something from their pasts from us? Sure all of us have somethings we haven't shared yet but still something as dangerous and illegal as street racing?'

Ryo glanced over at Rowen and gave a small nod, and then turned his attention towards Sage, "It's alright, go ahead no one is going to judge you here, you can tell us when you're ready ok."

Sage opened his eyes and looked over towards Ryo. He gave a small smile of relief and then took a breath as he started his story, "As I said before, this all happened before we met. Believe it or not, I had a rebellious streak. My father was so strick with me I had more than enough and I snuck out of the house one night. I heard rumors about a small crew who were street racing. I thought, why not no harm in checking it out. So I went. I was fascinated with how the cars gleamed in the pale light of the moon. The roar of the engines as they came to life when the drivers revved. I felt so free and alive when I was there. At first, all I did was watch, but then nights became weeks until finally, I got the courage of walking up to my first street racer. His name was Maverick. He introduced me to his younger brother Reno and the rest of his crew. They thought it was hilarious someone as young as me would be interested in street racing. But I was bound and determined to show them I meant business."

"So, did you show them you were serious about joining them? How did you have to prove it?"

"Kento!" Cye exclaimed looking over at his friend.

"Hey, I was only asking, no harm in asking questions right?"

Sage turned his back to his friends and walked to a window. He leaned up against it and stared out waiting before he continued. "It's fine. See at the time I didn't have a car yet. Father didn't think I was old enough to drive. But ever so often Yayoi would take me out for lessons on the weekends. They didn't care, mother and father knew how responsible Yayoi was so they didn't question her motives. Yayoi taught me how to drive. It was thanks to her I learned what real freedom was. What I have to look forward to when I come of age. It was our secret, we never told mother, father or Satsuki. We figured they didn't need to know it wasn't going to hurt them any. So back to the part where I had to prove to Maverick and Reno as well as the rest of the crew I was serious. I walked around each car checking them over one by one taking my time figuring out which one would be the best one to race. Then I made my choice. The car I chose was Reno's, it was the perfect fit considering at the time Reno and I was close to the same height. So I got in and did what adjusting I had to do. This was way different than my older sister's car but I could get used to it pretty quick. Once I was familiar with it, I edged to the starting line. I gripped the wheel as I felt the vibrations from the engine ringing through me. I never felt such excitement. Then I heard a second engine as it revved right next to me. I glanced over and was surprised in the next car was Maverick. I should have known the first race I ever was going to have was to be with the leader of the crew. Before I knew it we were off, once I hit the accelerator the car took off like it had a life of its own. The first race was over before it even started. I lost big time, but Maverick was impressed on the guts I've shown and invited me back again."

Ryo studied the others, they were enticed with Sage's story as he was. None of them, except for Rowen knew this part of Sage. Most of them thought he was always this calm, cool, and collected person who wouldn't let anyone or anything phase him. But this Sage with a wild streak and a taste for street racing was something else entirely. "Alright, but how does Rowen fit into your story?"

Sage glanced over to the archer, "You want to take it from there?"

"Sure," Rowen nodded, "See, at the time I was doing an internship at the paper where my mom uses to work before she moved to the states. I had to find a way to prove myself as a reporter to show the others I was just as good as my mom. So I heard rumors of street racing. I thought hey why not, it would make a killer story. Besides, no one would know it was me who wrote it since she had me take up a pseudo name whenever I wrote something for the paper. The editor didn't want the public to know a teenager was writing full time for him considering I was underage. Anyway, on one of the nights I did some asking around I ran into Sage. We talked about street racing and other things. Before we knew it most of the day was gone and it was getting close to the time for Sage to race. He invited me to come along as a guest not to race but to watch. I told him I didn't know how to drive yet. He was fine with it and so we went. When Sage walked to his car, I took a look around and to say the least I was impressed. The others at the paper would be so jealous when I came back with a hit story like this. I stuck around and watched a few races. They were good, very good. The best I've ever seen even better than a professional racer. Before I knew it, Sage was next in line. He was driving a different car than the one he told me he was supposed to race. It didn't matter a car was a car. But I guess to these guys a car is so much more. I heard the three, two, one and off they went. Wheels squealing and smoke flaring out the back. The smell of burnt rubber burning my nose. I couldn't fully understand how it made Sage and the other street racers felt, but I could imagine it. Everything was going great for a while, until the next round. Somehow, the cops found out about the racing and started blocking people off from escaping. Arrests were made and cars were impounded. A few people got away since it was a huge group it was a little hard for the cops to round up every single person who was there." Rowen explained as he looked at everyone in the room. "Three people were picked up, Maverick, his younger brother Reno, and Sage. You could imagine how Sage's father reacted finding out his son was arrested for street racing. Reno and Maverick were sent to juvie. Sage was sent home with his father."

Sage narrowed his eyes as his hands clenched, "To say the least, father was not happy when he found out his one and only son was street racing. It was the first time I was busted for it. I was busted a second time not even a month later. We had the worst fight we ever had and I decided to leave home. My father and I haven't spoken since. Well, ok not entirely true, we spoke to one another at the hospital today."

"More like a daytime talk show fight," Kento said out of the blue.

"What do you mean Kento?" Ryo asked turning his attention towards him.

The orange Ronin sighed a bit when he reached for his cell, "I was going to show this later, but maybe now is a better time. Though I'm letting you guys know it isn't good." Kento replied as he played the app for the story of Sage and his father fighting in the waiting room of the hospital.

"Kuso!" Sage exclaimed he couldn't believe it. Did people record their fight? Didn't they have better things to do instead? If they were seeing this, then more in likely his father saw it too or at least heard something about this from someone at work. Who knows how long this has been going viral. It isn't going to look good for him, his father, or the police station. But the damage was done nothing would be able to fix this mess.

Kento stopped the video and put it away, "Gomen, but I thought you should know about it, and not hear it from someone else."

"It's fine Kento. I guess it's time I owe all of you an explanation of my behavior as of late." Sage replied as he kept his back to them. "For the last few weeks, I've been having nightmares of when we were busted the second time the street racers were raided. My father found out I was sitting in one of his jails and he came down to see me. Needless to say, he was irate. We had words, and he left me there. He thought it would teach me a lesson. Well, I showed him. Once bailed was posted I never went home again. I cut off all ties to my family. I stayed with Maverick and Reno for a short time. One night the three of us wanted to do some racing. So we went out, first, it was going to be me against Maverick and then Reno would take on the winner. Well, everything was going fine, but when were head to head in the last leg of the race, something went wrong. We hit one another's car and Maverick lost control of his. It rolled over and over, caught on fire. I screeched to a halt and scrambled out of my car. Reno and I did our best to get Maverick out of the burning car. If we didn't hurry it was going to explode. We kept on pulling until finally with a last-ditch effort the two of us got him out just before his car exploded. We were pretty banged up, but Maverick took the brunt of it since he was older he shielded us the best he could from the blast. But from then on they blamed me for what happened to Maverick. They say it was my fault he almost died. So I left them too."

"Wow, intense. Sage, I..." Ryo was trying to find the right words to say but they just wouldn't come.

Sage turned around and faced everyone, "It's fine Ryo. You don't need to say anything. But now you know why I reacted as I did from the news report about the new race track which is being built in the city. Also, something else you should know. When Kaye came with me, we ran into Maverick and Reno. They challenged me to a race. Not verbally, but with his car. Maverick was driving straight for us and something came over me. It was the same feeling I used to have when I raced before. I was there again, but then I heard Kaye scream and I was brought back to the present."

Kento's eyes went wide and then narrowed at him, "Why did you make Kaye scream?"

Kaye looked over towards Kento, "It wasn't Sage's fault, not really. Maverick hit the back part of Sage's car and we spun out of control, but Sage snapped out of it and regained control of the car. We weren't hurt. I was just shaken up a bit."

"So it's the reason why you had a dent in your car when you dropped her off at the car shop to me."

Sage nodded in reply, "I apologized for it. I know I shouldn't have taken his challenge but something took me over and well..."

"Alright, everyone calm down, getting riled up over this won't help anyone. So I suggest we just figure out where to go from here." Cye reasoned as he looked at each one in turn.

Kaye leaned back in her chair in deep thought, 'Hmm, I wonder, could it be possible? It's a long shot.'

Rowen looked over towards her with a slight frown, "Kaye?"

Snapped out of her thoughts she looked over towards him, "Gomen Rowen."

"You look like you had something on your mind."

I do. Rowen, did you ever write the story about street racing?"

The blue-haired archer thought back about her question, "I wrote it, yes, but I didn't publish the story. I did keep it. Why?"

"Well it's a bit of a reach, but I was wondering also did you take any photos or video when you were there those times?"

Rowen shook his head, "I couldn't take photos they were pretty strict on no camera policy. But it didn't mean I didn't have video. I saved it to my cloud."

Sage whirled around and narrowed his eyes at him, "I didn't see you record anything. So how did you sneak a video recorder inside?"

Rowen turned his attention over towards him, "I was trained to be a reporter remember, and they have their tricks. But I didn't publish any of it I just kept it."

Cye took a step between Sage and Rowen, "Calm down, getting riled up over what did or didn't happen a long time ago shouldn't be the issue."

Sage sighed and backed off from them and gave a nod. "Gomen, you're right Cye. Everything is just crashing down all at once. I guess it's starting to get to me."

Ryo glanced at Kaye, "So where are you going with your questions?"

"I was wondering if you saw anything out of the ordinary on your recordings at the time? Anything stands out to you?"

"Once I put the video on the cloud I left it there never looked at it again. I'm sure I can pull it up again." Rowen replied as he stood from his chair. "Wait a minute, are you thinking someone tampered with Maverick's car before the race?"

"As I said, it's a long shot, but I think it could be possible."

"Ok, fine let's say someone did tamper with Maverick's car. Who would do it and why?" Kento asked as he looked over towards Sage.

Sage frowned deep in thought, "I'm not entirely sure who would sabotage Maverick's car. He was respected, no one messed with him. He was the top when it came to street racing. Though there were times he was challenged, but even then he won."

"I'll get my laptop and bring it down. Back in a minute." Rowen said as he went up to his room and retrieved his computer. It didn't take long for him to come back to the living room. He booted it up and started searching for the videos on his cloud account. It took some time but he finally found them. "Hey come take a look."

The others huddled around Rowen as he played a few of the videos he recorded back then. The first was a short narrative of him and Sage walking around the different cars. The second video was shot of the different racers who were joking around with one another. The third video was where it got interesting. It showed a shot of someone coming out from under Maverick's car. Standing up and wiping himself off, the person looked straight at Rowen and Sage for a quick moment and then disappeared.

Sage's eyes went wide, 'Someone did tamper with Maverick's car back then.' He thought to himself in surprise.

"Rowen, play the video a second time and then freeze it when he comes into view again," Ryo suggested, he and the others watched as Rowen froze the frame in place. "Does he look familiar to either of you?"

Sage and Rowen studied the guy frozen on the screen. They glanced and one another in confusion. "No, I don't remember seeing him."

"I don't remember him either, come to think of it. I didn't even realize he was picked up on camera until now." Rowen replied as they were all still staring at the frozen frame.

"Rowen, do you have any imaging software which can age a person about five to ten years from what they use to look like?" Kaye suggested.

"Sure, but I haven't had any reason to test it until now." Rowen replied and then he understood and smirked, "You want to see what he would look like now in case the same guy might still be in the city somewhere."

The others pulled away from Rowen so he could get to work on the imaging software program. They weren't sure how long it would take Rowen to render the screenshot so they spread out in the living room and waited for him to finish.

"Once Rowen ages the screenshot, who is to say the guy will still be around. He could be out of the country for all we know." Kento pointed out.

Ryo nodded, "True Kento does have a point. He could be, but what if he's still around here somewhere. Since there has been an increase in street racing I don't see why he wouldn't stay away from the action. Especially if he's been at it for a long time."

Sage turned his back on everyone and stared at the fireplace. "I appreciate the help all of you are trying to do. But this doesn't concern any of you. So I think once Rowen is done, I'll take the printout and finish this on my own."

Cye frowned when he looked at him, "What are you talking about, doing this on your own? We're family. We help one another out for a long time now, I don't see why now would be any different."

"But it's too dangerous. These people, they don't mess around, they mean business." Sage replied as he glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"It doesn't matter Sage, we dealt with worse. We dealt with Talpa and his Warlords as well as others who tried to take over the world. Sure, it got extremely dangerous, but we were there for one another then and we will be there for one another in the future." Ryo stated in a matter of fact tone.

Sage whirled around, fists clenched, "It matters to me. This is my cross to bear not yours. I don't want any of you to be involved with this anymore."

Kento took a step towards him, a fist raised and eyes narrowed, "Look here! We're not going to back down from a fight, not now not ever! You'd better get it through your thick head right now! Rather you like it or not, we're in this with you all the way. So you're just going to have to deal with it."

Sage took his time as he studied every one of his friends in turn. Their expressions were all pretty much the same. They were determined to help Sage with resolving his past. Plus rather he admitted it or not he would need their help. "Alright, fine. I know I can't talk any of you out of this."

"Damn right you can't, and besides, I finished with the rendering. The print outs should be coming soon. Once we get these we can figure where to go next." Rowen stated as he stood from his laptop to go and get the pictures.


	6. Chapter 6

Tobias walked through the hospital with a bouquet. He made it look like he's been there many times before visiting. Making his way past the nurses' station and onward towards the private sector where Yayoi was staying. As he approached he saw two cops standing at attention at her door instead of the hospital security. 'They must have switched within the last hour or so. The cops will make it tougher to get inside than regular hospital security. I'm going to have to try another time.' Tobias thought to himself as he kept on walking past them and around the corner. Approaching the elevator he went up a floor and got off as he turned another corner and walked to a window which showed a view of the private sector. He sat down in a chair and started to stake out Yayoi's room.

Both of the cops looked at one another as they made a mental note of what Tobias looked like so they could pass it on to the next two who were to come on shift. They were ordered to keep a mental note of who came close to Yayoi's door any time day or night. The Commissioner-General didn't want a single person who wasn't on the list to gain access to his daughter's room.

Yayoi peered through the small slit in the curtain from her bed to try and see if anyone was coming for a visit. She was starting to get restless waiting for someone, or anyone to come in who wasn't medical. Yayoi wasn't used to being in hospitals, she was more used to putting people in them instead. 'I guess turn about is fair play. I can't wait until I'm out of this hospital bed. Once I track the one down who ran me off the road, I'm so going to kick his sorry ass. I can just hear Sage telling me about driving and safety. Like he should talk since he raced back in the day. Though I hate to admit it, I kind of miss having Sage around. I wish he and father didn't fight and left us. But I guess I can understand why he did though.'

Dr. Date walked to Yayoi's room. She gave a nod to the two officers and they cleared her to enter the room. "Yayoi, you awake?"

"Yes, mother. Come on in." Yayoi replied as she pushed herself to sit up a little.

Dr. Date entered the room and shut the door. "How are you feeling? Any better after the surgery?"

"Still a bit sore, but overall fine I suppose. But once I track down who put me in here he'll be in worse shape than me."

Dr. Date shook her head in slight amusement, "You are every bit like your father. It's no wonder why you went into law enforcement. You two get along so well."

"It wasn't because of father I got into it. I wanted to because I find it interesting. and I like helping those who can't help themselves."

"It took a lot of convincing to even have your father consider you going to the academy. Let alone becoming a detective."

Yayoi raised a brow and gave a small smirk, "Plus I had to ace all of my tests and graduate the top of my class for him to even give his approval. Even without it, I still would have gone through with it."

Dr. Date laughed as she sat down in the chair next to Yayoi's bed. "You're just like your brother in such an aspect."

"Who do you think he got it from? He hung around me too much. Speaking of Sage, has he called or messaged?"

"Sage said he'd stop by when he can, as long as father isn't here. He didn't want to get into it with him again as they did in the waiting room during your surgery."

Yayoi looked down at her sheets, "I don't understand why those two just quit being so stubborn and apologize to one another so they can get back to helping put this family back together."

Dr. Date reached across and took a hold of her daughter's hand, "They will, who knows, maybe it'll be sooner than we think. It's been long enough for them to get past their differences and start talking."

Yayoi looked up and smiled at her mother, "I was wondering a couple of things."

Dr. Date raised a brow, "What was it you were wondering?"

"First, is there any way I can get some decent food snuck in here. I'm getting hungry."

Laughing she let go of her daughter's hand, "I think it can be arranged. I'll bring something back later. What was the other thing you were wondering?"

"Second, I was curious if you could sneak my cell in here. I know there's a no cell phone policy. But it's in case Sage, father or someone else is trying to get a hold of me."

Reaching into her purse, Dr. Date pulled out Yayoi's cell and charger. She handed over the cell to her and put the charger on the table by the bed. "I figured you'd ask for it sooner or later."

Yayoi smiled as she laid her cell on the table, "Thank you, mother. So, are you still on the clock or are you off now?"

"I just got off a short while ago, so I stay here for a few hours and visit."

"I see father wasted no time having guards placed at my door. I can imagine the reasons why. The investigation is still ongoing. So I guess he's taking precautions."

Dr. Date gave a small nod, "As soon as we got the word you were going to be placed in the private sector. He had hospital security start standing guard and then he replaced them with other officers from his prescient."

"What about Satuski?"

"She'll be visiting tomorrow with me. At the moment she's finishing her homework over at grandfathers and then when she's done, she'll be training with him."

Yayoi looked for sympathy, she remembered how hard of a taskmaster their grandfather could be, especially when it came to training. "Poor Satuski, but hey, at least it isn't me. I remember his training sessions. They were more brutal than whatever the academy could dish out for training."

"He only pushes all of you so hard is because he wants to make sure all of you can fight if you need to, and it's his way of showing he cares."

"We know mother. It's ok, you don't have to explain grandfather to us. We figured him out a long time ago. True enough he can be scary at times. But don't tell him or father I admitted it."

Dr. Date laughed as she shook her head, "I won't say a word. Promise. Now then, maybe you should consider getting some rest?" Standing from her chair she helped Yayoi resettle back into bed. "The nurses will be by soon enough for your medications and checking your vitals."

The two said their goodbye, and then Dr. Date left Yayoi's room and bid a good day to the two officers standing guard at Yaoyoi's door.

While Tobais watched from his seat, he called Maverick, "Are you able to talk?"

Maverick glanced around and saw most of his crew were out of earshot, "Yeah, no one is around, so what's the news?"

Tobias leaned back in his chair as he did a glance around and saw he was also alone. "Yayoi Date is where they said she be, plus she has cops guarding her door. So it'll be hard to get inside. Going by their uniforms They're from the same prescient."

"Wouldn't expect anything less, especially from the Commissioner-General himself. How much of a problem will this be?"

"Yayoi Date, you, your brother and only a few others know what I look like. The rest of the crews have no idea of my identity."

"It seems she was the only detective who got close enough to figure out your identity. It's just too bad she hid the evidence before either of us could get to it."

"It's why I sent one of my drivers to toss her place. So he could see if he could find the evidence. It was his punishment for not finishing her off when he knocked her off the road."

Maverick chuckled, "Sounds like he got off easy to me."

Tobias growled low in his throat, "You don't concern yourself on how I take care of my drivers, and I won't concern myself how you conduct business with yours."

Maverick noticed the warning in his voice, "Yes of course. I'll keep it in mind. If you'll excuse me, I have business with my crew."

Tobias waited a few seconds before he pulled his cell away from his ear. Letting his cell pass between his fingers, he played with his phone. 'My revenge is going as planned. Not even Maverick or Reno know my true identity. They won't realize who I am until it's too late. I already have the Dates' hurting from the fight between golden boy and his father. Now detective Date laid up in the hospital. I will get everyone who crossed me and anyone else who rides with them. Then when everything is said and done, I will either own this city or it will burn!" Tobias thought to himself as he grabbed onto his cell and gripped it tight.

Reno glanced over towards his brother, "So, what did the old man have to say?"

Maverick chuckled as he shook his head, "Old man?"

"Well, yeah, he's older than me anyway, so he's an old man in my opinion."

"Little brother, does it mean you consider me as an old man as well?"

"Naw, you're family so you won't have to worry about me calling you an old man."

"Right, anyway, Tobias said there are two cops outside of her room. More in likely they'll keep them there until she's discharged. My guess her father will keep her under protection detail or possible in a safe house until their case is closed."

Reno grabbed a couple of cans and threw one to his brother, "It would be smart of him, I wouldn't doubt she would argue she doesn't need the extra protection. She is a Date after all right."

Maverick caught the can and gave a nod, "Yeah, golden boy's older sister. Our crew will lay off, but the ones with Tobias might not."

"I don't trust him, bro. There's something about him which has been bothering me for a while. He's planning something on the side."

"You worry too much, I have it handled. I can deal with Tobias."

"You don't worry enough, but I guess your obsession with golden boy is overruling your judgment."

Maverick narrowed his eyes at him, "Be careful about how you talk. You may be my brother, but I'll have no problem taking you down a notch or two."

Reno glared back at him, "Bring it any time, any place bro. I'm faster and stronger than you."

A deep laugh erupted from Maverick's throat, "Sure little brother, whatever you say. So, do you have any news in regards to golden boy or his friends?"

"According to the feed from my drone, they're all home at the moment. I can only pick up the video, no sound. All of their windows are closed so I can only guess what they're discussing."

Maverick nodded, "Keep an eye on them. I wouldn't doubt they'll leave soon enough. I want you to track them, I want to know their every move."

"I'm on it," Reno replied as he walked away from his brother and made his way to his computer to watch the drone's video feed.

'It would be only a matter of time before he tells them about his past. When, or if they decide to help him, it'll make things even more interesting. Providing golden boy lets them help him of course. I'll just have to make sure they are involved one way or another as insurance.' Maverick thought to himself as he opened his can and took a drink. 'Though, on another thought, maybe Reno is right to suspect Tobias. Something is off about him. Something familiar. But I guess when the time comes everything will be revealed. Soon, golden boy, we will have a reckoning. I'm looking forward to running you into the ground, and I'll enjoy every moment of it.'

Maverick stood up and walked over towards his brother, "Hey Reno, bring up the information on his friends."

Reno glanced up from his computer and then back to the screen when he brought up the information. "Take a look, I found it interesting none of them have much in common except for martial arts backgrounds. Otherwise, I'm not sure what keeps them living together, or what brought them together in the first place. The main exception of the group would be the blue-haired one, remember?"

Maverick studied each picture a little closer and then came upon Rowen's. Recognition registered, "Of course, he's the one who came with him to a few races towards the end. Hard to forget the blue hair."

"Turned out he was an intern at the newspaper his mom worked at the time. But I don't remember seeing any stories in the papers or on the web about what happened."

"It doesn't matter," Maverick seethed when he felt pain radiating in his hands and arms again. "Damn."

Reno turned his full attention towards his brother, "How severe is the pain?"

"Severe enough."

Reno scowled at him, "I told you we needed to get more pain killers."

Maverick narrowed his eyes at him, "Enough! I don't need them! I can function well enough without pills!"

"Oh really? Then crush the can you're holding."

"You're being ridiculous! I don't need to prove anything to you!"

"Crush it! You can't can you?"

"Fine! I'll crush the damn can if it'll make you happy!" Maverick shot back. Turning his sight from his brother to the can he held in his hand. Maverick concentrated on the dare. The more pressure he put on the can, the more the pain increased. His hand started to shake and then he dropped it to the ground. He turned his back to him as he was trying to get himself under control.

"I'm taking you to the clinic."

"No you're not, we have things to do, and worrying about my pain is not one of them."

"Damn it Maverick! Stop being so stubborn about this! How are you supposed to drive if you're in pain all the time?"

"I'll bear through it as I have been. I'm not going to let this get the best of me." Maverick sighed and turned around facing him. "Look, I appreciate you being concerned. I'll tell you what, the next time we're out, I'll find some generic pain killers."

"Well, I guess. But, will you tell me your reason why you won't refill your prescription?"

Maverick figured this question was going to come up sooner or later. He looked away from his brother and leaned back on a stack of tires. "When you were serving your time, I...I became addicted to the prescription. I took them like they were nothing every day. Even when I wasn't in pain I took them anyway. My parole agent found out and instead of busting me on it, he set me up with a rehab program instead. It took some time, I got over most of the addiction but not all the way. Every once in a while I get the need for my prescription."

Reno walked up to his brother. He placed his palms upon his shoulders, "Hey, hey look at me. It's all right. I'm glad you told me, I had no idea you were going through drug addiction when I was serving time. I was wondering why you stopped talking to me for a while."

Maverick looked up, "I didn't want you to have something else to worry about, I just needed you to finish your time served and get out of there."

Moving his hands away he stepped back giving his brother some room, "You know what, you are a softy."

Maverick scowled at him, "Shut it! I'm hardcore!"

Throwing his head back he chuckled and then looked at him, "You say so, bro."

"You tell anyone about this..."

"Don't worry, it's our secret. I promise."

"Good. Now, don't you have a job to do?"

"Right, I'll get on it. I'll let you know as soon as they leave and I'll have my drone follow them the whole time."

"See if you can hack into their cell phones as a backup. Just in case they end up driving separate vehicles."

"I'll let you know once it's been done, it'll take a little longer to get each cell, but I should be able to get it done."

"Good, let me know. I have a few things to take care of before we head out tonight." Maverick told him as he stood up from leaning on the stack of tires and walked towards his car. 'Now he knows about my pain killer addiction, maybe now he'll stop bothering me about getting my medication refilled. He is right though, the pain has gotten worse since I've been off my medication. No way am I going to admit it to him though. It isn't anything for him to be concerned about. We have other things to think about anyway.' Grabbing his toolbox he went to work in his car.

Across the city at the prescient...

"Commander General Date, may I enter?"

"Hm?" Replying without looking up from the screen, "Yes, yes you may enter, shut the door behind you."

"Yes, sir." Entering the office and shutting the door behind, "Sir, what did you need from me?"

Looking up at the detective, he laced his fingers together and narrowed his eyes, "I need for you to contact my son."

The detective was a bit surprised at his request, "Sir, wouldn't it be better if you would contact him?"

"As you know, my son and I are not on speaking terms. We haven't been since he left years ago."

The detective raised a brow at him, "No disrespect sir, but I still don't understand why you want me to contact Sage."

"Because you have been a friend of the family for a long time. He always listened to you. Especially when he didn't want to talk to me. Also, I say it's payback for not running you through for breaking Yayoi's heart when you two broke up last year."

"Right, yes sir, and I appreciate the fact you didn't do such a thing. I like living. Besides, she did more than enough of a job on me when it happened."

The Commander General gave a small chuckle to the detective's surprise, "Yes, I suppose she did. But back to the matter at hand, will you contact Sage?"

The detective studied him, to say the least, he was surprised by the request. Was it because of the footage of their fight caught on the phones of the people who were in the waiting room? Or was it because of the case in general? "I'll see what I can do sir, there's no guarantee he'll answer. What did you want me to say to him?"

"I wouldn't doubt he and his friends seen the video. More in likely the whole world has probably seen it including the ones we're investigating. They'll know Sage and I are still on the outs with one another."

"So you want me to have him brought in or to meet him somewhere?"

"No, just talk to him on the phone. Then have a tracer put on the call, I want to keep tabs on my son without him knowing."

"Sir, wouldn't it be easier to ask him for his help instead of going this route?"

"Are you disobeying a direct order detective?"

"No, sir!"

"Then get to it and let me know when you're done. Dismissed!" The Commander General shot back as he watched the detective leave his office.


	7. Chapter 7

"Rowen, any chance you'd be able to make a copy of those videos?" Kaye asked as she received her copy of the picture Rowen printed out of the one they were going to track down.

"Sure I can, it'll be easy enough. Were you thinking of giving them to the police?" Rowen inquired as he started making copies.

"Not right away, if we do find this guy, maybe we can use it as a bargaining chip or something," Kaye suggested glancing over towards Sage.

"A bit reckless don't you think Kaye? Even if we do find this guy, it's a little too dangerous letting him know we have video of him sabotaging Maverick's car."

Cye gave a nod, "Ryo has a point. Maybe we should just send it to Sage's father at the prescient."

Sage frowned deep in thought, "I agree with Kaye. We should hang onto the videos. All of us should have copies, then if something happens one of us can go to the police and turn it into them."

Rowen glanced around the room, he studied them closely, "I'm with them. Each one of us will have all three of the videos on our phones. Then we'll have at least some kind of insurance in case things get out of hand."

Ryo, Cye, and Kento glanced at one another and then at the other three and agreed to the suggestion as they waited for Rowen to upload the videos to their cells. It didn't take long for the uploads, each one checked to make sure all three videos played the entire way on their phones.

"Looks like we're good to go. We have the photo of the guy we're looking for with a before and after shot and the videos. Alright, Sage, this is your play so where do we go from here?" Ryo asked when he and the others turned their attention towards him.

"First, I'll send the picture to Yayoi and see if she can identify him. I don't think the guards will let me visit just yet knowing my father. Once we get confirmation, then I have an idea of where to go next." Sage replied as he took a shot of the picture and sent it to Yayoi by messenger.

Kento sighed as he sat down again, "Well looks like it's another hurry up and wait scenario."

Cye shook his head at him with a smirk, "Don't worry Kento, I'm sure you'll get to see some action sooner than you think."

"I hope you're right man because I'm starting to get restless from all of this waiting," Kento grumbled a bit.

Sage was about to respond when his cell rang, 'Talk about a quick response. I didn't expect her to respond already.' He glanced at the caller id and saw it wasn't his sister, it was someone else he didn't expect, "Detective Shaw? What is the special occasion for your call?"

"Sage, I was asked to get in contact with you by your father."

"Figures, if it was so important why didn't he call me himself instead of ordering you to call me?" Sage asked in an annoyed tone.

"With detective Yayoi in recovery, he has me running point on the investigation to pick up where she left off so to speak. I was wondering, I know you've been looking into it since your run-in with Maverick and Reno. I was curious to see if you turned up anything."

"Interesting, considering you guys usually tell people like me to stay out of police business."

"Come on Sage, be fair!"

"Fair! Don't talk to me about being fair detective Shaw! You know what, I don't have time to get into it with you."

"Sage, wait, please just talk with me, it'll be off the record. Just you and me."

"Give me a break, this is one of your stalling tactics. Trying to keep me on the phone long enough to trace the call. You and my father know perfectly well where I am. So there's no need to trace this call. I know police procedure."

"Wait, please hear me out, I want to get the ones back who put Yayoi in the hospital as much as you do Sage. I also want to make sure you and your friends stay safe. Work with me."

"I have to go, detective," Sage stated as he heard a notification beep come across on his end. "I'll call you when I'm not busy. Goodbye."

"Sage! Damn!" Detective Shaw grumbled as he glanced over at the ones trying to put on the trace. "Did you get it?"

"No, it was a few seconds short of connecting. We're you wanting to call him back and try again?"

Detective Shaw rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, "No, not right now. I'll wait until he calls me. I'll give him an hour, and then I'll call him back we'll try then."

Ryo walked up to Sage and placed his hand on his shoulder, "You all right?"

Sage gave a small sigh and turned around facing Ryo, "I should have known my father would put detective Shaw up to this. It doesn't matter, Yayoi replied through messenger." Looking down at the message Yayoi sent him he read it a couple of times. "She said the man in the picture is named Tobias. He's in league with Maverick and Reno. She also said it's a good possibility the videos she watched from what Rowen sent were of the same guy all those years ago."

Kento frowned, "Does Yayoi think they know this Tobias guy was the same one who sabotaged Maverick's car all those years ago?"

"My guess is no. At least I don't think so. She says their crews are working together."

"Then if Maverick and Reno did suspect who Tobias was, more in likely they wouldn't be working with one another," Cye suggested.

"Sounds about right to me." Sage agreed as he put his cell in his pocket. 'Looks like there's no other way. I was hoping to avoid this.'

"So now what Sage?" Kaye asked as she turned her attention towards him.

"We have to go and see someone I thought I'd never see again. But I will tell all of you this, whatever happens, don't interfere. Let me handle it alright." Sage could see by their expressions they weren't in full agreement but after some time they consented to his suggestion. "Come on let's get this over with."

The others followed Sage as he walked outside. Ryo and Rowen piled into Sage's car while Cye and Kento got into Kaye's. Sage took the lead as Kaye followed close behind him.

"Any idea of where he might be going?" Cye asked as he kept watch on Sage's car.

"Not a clue. Man, I never thought Sage would be such a rebel when he was growing up. Who knew." Kento replied leaning back in his seat.

"Wherever we're going, it didn't sound like Sage was too excited about the idea." Kaye pointed out as she continued to follow him.

Not much was given for conversation in either car, they drove in silence for another ten to fifteen minutes until Sage directed them to a car shop on the far end of the city. Sage pulled up and parked, he stopped out and motioned for Kaye to park next to him.

Kaye gave a nod and parked next to Sage's car. She got out with Cye and Kento following. "Who is it we're going to see Sage?"

"Not we, just me. I need the rest of you to stay here with the cars. Please, I need to talk to this person alone." Sage said as he approached the opened door of the shop.

"Fine, we'll wait here, but don't take too long. I don't like to wait." Kento grumbled a bit as he leaned back on Kaye's car.

Sage shook his head in slight amusement and proceeded inside. He glanced around his surroundings, 'Nothing seems like it changed.' The shop was larger on the inside than what it looked from the outside. Rows upon rows of street racers were lined up, some were on lifts while others were on the ground. He approached one of the mechanics. "Sparks around?"

The mechanic didn't bother looking up, "Who wants to know?"

"An old friend."

The mechanic pulled out from under the car and looked towards the office on the second floor and yelled out, "Hey Sparks! Someone is asking for you!"

"Who is it? I'm busy!" Sparks yelled back.

"He says he's an old friend."

"Fine, I'll be right down!" A woman with an athletic build with a mix of red and black hair in grease-covered jeans and a T-shirt came down to the main floor. "I don't believe it! What are you doing here of all places?"

"Hi, Sparks." Sage started to say but then was cut off when she punched him across the face. Her eyes blazed at him.

"Don't you hi Sparks me, golden boy! I told you to never return to my garage ever again!"

The other Ronins and Kaye were a bit startled when they saw Sage letting this woman punch him across his face without blocking the hit. But it was nothing for what was to come next.

Sparks came right up to him and kissed Sage fully on the mouth and after a few seconds pulled away from him.

Sage gave a small smirk at her, "Good to see you too Dom." Glancing back at his friends he motioned for them it was ok to enter.

They walked away from the cars in confusion as they watched the two while entering the shop.

"Sage?"

"Everyone, this is Sparks, she and I had an interesting relationship back in the day." Sage started to introduce her.

"My actual name is Dominic. I prefer Dom, only golden boy and my crew can call me Sparks."

"Dom, these are my friends, I think you might remember Rowen."

"Little boy blue! Right! You're a hard one to forget." Sparks smirked at him.

"Ha, ha Dom, you know I hate it when you call me little boy blue."

"Gomen, it was the only name I could think of at the time. It suits you, still does, well mostly. I guess you're not little anymore."

"Let's agree to not call me it ever again ok. It was bad enough then it'll be worse now." Rowen stated as he glared at the others in a warning.

Sage chuckled as he saw them trying to hold back from laughing, "As I was saying Sparks, they're my friends, he's Ryo, next to him is Cye, the big guy is Kento, and she's Kaye."

Sparks gave a nod to each one in turn, "Nice to see golden boy finally got himself more friends. So what brings you here? Is it about street racing? I thought you gave it up years ago."

Sage glanced around, "Mind if we talk in your office? It's private."

Sparks studied Sage, she could see he was serious in his request. "Fine, my office is up on the second floor. Follow me." She turned her back to them and started walking towards the stairs.

"Ah, Rowen just who was she anyway?" Kento whispered as they followed her towards the second floor.

"They went out together back in the day. She was his old girlfriend." Rowen whispered back as they made it to her office.

"Take a seat," Sparks said as she walked behind her desk and sat down. "So, again what brings you here?"

Sage sat down across from her, "You heard the news Maverick and Reno are out and they combined the remains of the old crew with a few new ones which are run by a guy named Tobias."

Sparks gave a nod, "Of course, they don't bother me or my crew. At least they were smart there, what's it to you?"

"Yayoi was undercover in Tobias's crew, someone there caused an accident and landed her in the hospital. I need to find them."

Sparks studied Sage, and then leaned back in her chair, "So you're looking for revenge. I can understand your reasoning."

"Did you also know back in the day Tobias was the one who sabotaged Maverick's car during our last race? We have a video to prove it, plus a picture of what he looked like back then and what he possibly looks like now." Sage informed her as he was doing his best to keep himself in check.

"Where is this video you say you have of Tobias?" Sparks inquired crossing her arms while keeping her attention on him.

"Right here," Sage replied as he reached into his pocket and took out his cell. He went to the videos Rowen sent to him and the others on their cells and shoved his cell towards her. "Take a look for yourself."

Sparks leaned forward and scooped up Sage's phone. She pressed play and watched the video. Her eyes went wide as she continued to watch. She played it a second time, and she was then convinced it was Tobias. Sliding Sage's phone back to him, "I never realized he was so jealous of Maverick he had to resort to sabotage. Do they know? Have you shown this to them?"

Sage raised a brow when he pocketed his cell, "You're kidding right? They'd rather kill me than listen to what I have to say. You know what they're like Dom. I wouldn't come to you if it wasn't my last resort."

"What about your father? He's still top brass at the prescient right?"

Sage leaned back in his chair and looked away from her, "We haven't talked since he left me in jail after I was arrested for street racing the second time. I left my family after bail was made."

Sparks watched Sage in silence for a while until finally, "What do you need from me?"

Sage turned his attention back to her, "The help from you and your crew. They outnumber us. We are going to take them down one way or another. These street races are a lot more dangerous than they use to be when we raced. If we allow Maverick and Reno along with Tobias go free a lot of people will get hurt. You know this just as much as I do. Maverick and Reno are different now than what they use to be back when we knew them."

"You're asking for a lot you know."

Sage gave a nod, "I know, and I'm sorry for asking so much from you and your crew. But wouldn't you do the same if the roles were reversed?"

"You have some nerve. Where the hell do you have the audacity to pose such a question?"

Kento stood up and looked towards Sparks with narrowed eyes, "Look! Lady! Sage isn't the type of person to just ask for help unless he truly needs it! So don't even think of questioning his motives! If you're not going to help then just say so!"

Kaye took hold of Kento's arm and scowled at him, "Kento!"

The orange Ronin shook his head, "No! She needs to hear what Sage is trying to tell her!"

Sparks laughed, "Gomen, you're right, I have heard what he had to say."

Kento raised a brow at her, "And?"

"I'll take it under advisement. Give me an hour and I'll call you with my answer." Sparks said as she stood from her chair.

Sage closed his eyes and thought about what she said, "Fine, I'll wait for your call. You still have my number?" Opening his eyes as he stood.

"As long as you haven't changed it I sure do. You know I'll keep my word and I'll call you within an hour." Sparks said as she walked to her office door. "Now, considering I'm still in a gracious mood, I won't send my crew out on you for making such a scene in my office."

"Thanks, Sparks." Sage replied, "Let's go, our business is done."

The rest of them stood from their seats and followed Sage out the door and past Sparks's crew as they made their way back to their cars.

Sparks watched from the balcony as Sage and his friends got into their cars and drove away. She stood there a little longer and then turned around and headed back into her office.

Sage opened the driver's side door, "Went better than I thought."

"Went better? Sage what the hell man!?" Kento started to ask in slight annoyance.

"Kento, Sage didn't want to come here in the first place, but it was the main option he had left. It took a lot for him to even ask Sparks for her help."

"I know Rowen, but..."

"But nothing, we'll wait for her call. In the meantime, I think we should check out Yayoi's place and see if we can find the evidence she hid." Sage replied as he got into his car.

Ryo and Rowen looked at one another and got into Sage's car while Kaye, Kento, and Cye entered her car. They took off from the shop and were on their way to Yayoi's place.

"How far is Yayoi's place?"

"It's about twenty minutes from here Ryo. I'm wondering if we should have gone there first. I'm not sure what we'll find once we arrive. Or if we'll find anything at all." Sage replied as he took the next turn.

"Hey, if you're having second thoughts of asking Sparks for help..."

"No Rowen, I'm not having second thoughts. I just wasn't sure what to expect, I still don't know. But if Sparks and her crew help us out or not, it's her decision. I won't blame her if she decides not to. It's up to her. She was always someone who did what she wanted when she wanted, then and now." Sage replied with a hint of a smirk.

Ryo smirked as he glanced over at the archer, "Little boy blue huh?"

Rowen rolled his eyes, "Come on Ryo, don't even start with me. I hated the nickname then and I still hate it now. I wish I wasn't even given it."

"Who gave it to you anyway?"

Rowen grumbled as he crossed his arms and looked out the window, "Sage."

Ryo looked at the blonde Ronin in surprise, "Wait a minute, Sage, you gave Rowen his nickname, then how did you get your golden boy?"

"Yayoi. She gave me golden boy because of how perfect I seemed to be until I became a teenager anyway. But she had me keep it."

Kaye was about a block behind Sage, she kept him in sight while Kento and Cye were talking.

"Kento, I still can't believe you."

"What? I only said what everyone else was thinking."

"Sage said he was going to handle the situation."

"Yeah, and look how well it turned out. Come on Cye, even you have to admit it could have gone better."

"It doesn't matter now, what does matter is how we are going to be there for Sage when the time comes. He needs our help right now, he doesn't need us stirring up trouble with people from his past."

"All right fine, I'll drop it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."

Kaye glanced at him as she took the next turn, "Kento, I'm sure you'll get your chance to go a few rounds with the ones who are causing Sage such grief."

He raised his brow towards her, "Promise?"

She gave a small smile, "I'm sure I don't have to promise but if it'll make you feel better, then yes I promise you'll get your chance."

"Yes!" Grinning as he crossed his arms, "Though I have to admit, I was surprised at how Sparks greeted Sage."

"I was more surprised at Sage letting her punch him."

Kaye saw Sage pulling up a block before Yayoi's place. She started to pull in a block behind him. "Hey guys, as much as an interesting conversation you two are having, we're here." Getting out of her car she started walking over to Sage, Ryo, and Rowen.

"Looks like someone is still there," Ryo stated as he spotted someone's silhouette through the front window.

"Hey Kento, it looks like you'll get your chance to have your fight," Cye stated as the two of them joined the others.

Kento cracked his knuckles and his neck with a smirk on his face, "Now you're talking."


	8. Chapter 8

Yayoi was torn between anticipation and dread as she stared at the message she received from her brother. She knew he was going after them in retaliation. Sage was going to get himself hurt and so were his friends without a doubt knowing they'd be helping him get his brand of justice. Sage should have known the better recourse was to let the law take the crews down and not go on a revenge kick. 'Damn it, Sage! I know you need to settle things from your past, but going this route you're over your head.'

"Yayoi? Hey, earth to detective Date are you in there?" A concerned voice rang in, "If you don't answer, I'm going to swipe your phone."

"Touch my phone and I'll break your hand. Do you understand me, detective Shaw?" Yayoi inquired as she looked over towards him putting her cell away.

A chuckle came from his throat as he raised his hands in surrender, "I like to keep the use of my hand thank you very much. What got your attention you didn't hear me knocking at your hospital door?"

"Just a message from Sage."

Detective Shaw raised a suspicious brow towards her, "Sage huh? What did the elusive younger brother have to say?"

Gripping her hand more on her cell from its hiding place under the covers. "He said he was planning on coming by for a visit later today. Why does it matter to you what he sent? Are you being a spy for my father?"

Shaking his head, as he played hurt expression in his eyes, "Yayoi, me a spy for your father? Please, why would I do something so crazy?"

"So you can see if I would tell you anything about Sage if he got in contact with me for starters."

Taking a seat next to Yayoi's bed detective Shaw kept his eyes on her, "Come on Yayoi, Sage and I are no longer at odds with one another. I talked with your brother half an hour ago if it makes you feel any better."

Yayoi studied him suspiciously. 'Why would he have talked with Sage half an hour ago and still ask me if I've talked with him? He knows something, so why isn't he telling me.' Turning her gaze from the detective she set it to the window. "I'll be glad to get out of this hospital room. The food is terrible. Plus, I'm tired of being a pin cushion, the track marks they make me look like a drug user."

Detective Shaw chuckled as he leaned back in the chair, "I thought you would ask your mom to sneak in some decent food since it looks like she snuck in your cell."

"Well, ok yes she snuck in some food last time she came for a visit." Turning her attention away from the window she frowned at him. "Alright Shaw, what is the real reason you came for a visit? Besides trying to gouge me for information on Sage? My brother isn't even close in being a suspect in the case and you know it."

"Hey! Hold on you're jumping to conclusions Date. Ok, you're right, I didn't just come by for a visit to check on you. Your father asked me to escort you to a safe house and stay with you until we heard the all-clear from him."

Yayoi let go of her cell and crossed her arms, "Figures he would pull something like this."

"Come on, you know it isn't what you think. Yes he's concerned for your safety, you're his oldest daughter so yeah he would be, so cut the guy some slack. Plus, he thought since you'll be discharged soon, it would be better to be set up in a safe house instead of going back to your place or your parents. You know neither one would be safe Yayoi." Shaw pointed out as he reached out for her hand and took a hold of it.

Yayoi studied his eyes, she could see he was genuinely concerned for her safety. Otherwise, he wouldn't have used her first name, ever since they broke up a year ago they acknowledged one another by their last names. It was an agreement between them to show one another respect since they were both detectives in the same division. "Shaw, what did you and my brother talk about earlier?"

"I asked him what he and his friends found out so far about the case."

"What did he tell you? Providing he'd tell you anything except to get lost and don't bother to call him anymore. How close am I?"

Shaw gave a nod, "More or less. But it makes me believe he has something in mind he and his friends are going to do which will land them way over their heads. Please Yayoi, what did Sage talk with you about, you know how dangerous it is for them to go and get justice on their own."

Yayoi let go of his hand as she placed both of her hands in her lap. Biting the bottom of her lip as she stared at her hands she wondered if she should tell him about the message he sent. "Fine, I'll tell you, but you can't tell my father. You can only inform the ones you trust in our unit. No one else." She looked at him with determined eyes, "Give me your word Shaw. Otherwise, forget it."

Detective Shaw closed his eyes and sighed, opening them back up as he came to a decision, "Agreed. I give you my word. You know I'll keep it."

"Fine, I'll tell you," Yayoi replied as she reached into her blanket and pulled out her cell and showed him the message. "It looks like Sage and his friends found out what Tobias looks like. He messaged me to see if they were right."

Shaw raised a brow as he glanced between the message and her, "Were they?"

"Yes, plus there's more. It seems besides figuring out the identity of Tobias, they came across some old video back in the day of him sabotaging Maverick's car before he and Sage ran their last race. It proves Tobias is way more dangerous than anyone anticipated."

"Yayoi, the evidence you collected on Tobias, where did you hide it?"

"It's in my house. Or it still should be unless someone was sent to toss it and try and find what they're looking for. If they find it, then it'll just be my word against his. We both know how well my testimony alone won't hold up in court."

Detective Shaw reached for his cell and dialed for Sage. A deep frown creased his brows when the cell kept on ringing. "Damn it, come on Sage pick up!"

Yayoi dialed her brother after she watched Shaw hang up his cell. "Sage, you better answer me." Looking up towards him as she hung up, "I don't believe this he's ignoring both of our calls."

"Send me the picture and video Sage sent you and I'll show them to the two guards at the door. I'll see if they noticed anyone who might look like Tobias coming around your room."

Giving a small nod she sent Shaw the message sent her. When she saw him walking to the door, she made her way out of the bed and went for her clothes and walked to the bathroom to change.

Detective Shaw glanced back when he saw the bathroom door close shut and then turned his attention to the two guards showing them the picture. "Anyone been around who looks like this lately?"

The guards studied the picture and then recognition hit them, "Yes, he walked past us the other day but he went to the elevator over there. But where he went afterward we don't know. He might still be around."

"Thanks, call this into the dispatcher and tell them to put out an all-points bulletin on Tobias. Also, make sure to tell them Tobias is extremely dangerous and is working with Maverick and Reno."

The two guards gave a nod and called into the dispatcher what Shaw relayed to them.

Shaw went back into Yayoi's room just as she came out changed into her regular clothes. He told her what was said. "They're not sure if Tobias is still around or not, but they think he might be. We need to leave now."

"Mother is going to freak when she finds out I left before being officially discharged."

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll understand considering the situation. Come on, if we're leaving we better get going. The two guarding your door will provide cover while we make a quick exit. The fastest way would be the stairs."

Yayoi frowned in deep thought, "Wait, I have an idea. There should be a meal cart coming soon. We can empty it and I'll squeeze myself inside and you'll shut the door. You can leave first and then the nurse will be able to wheel me out a few minutes afterward."

"A crazy idea, but it just might work. Besides, we don't have much time for anything else. So if we're going to pull this off then we better do it now."

Detective Shaw and Date watched for the nurse who was bringing the breakfast cart. Shaw opened the door for her and then quickly shut it. They explained to her what they needed to do. The nurse was a bit apprehensive at first but agreed with it since it was a police matter. They started to get to work unloading the breakfast cart. "Thank you for understanding. When you see my mother, tell her not to worry. I'll be just fine and will contact her once things quiet down."

"Dr. Date isn't going to be happy about this." The nurse stated as she helped Yayoi to get settled into the cart.

"I know but it has to be done this way. We appreciate your help in this crazy plan of hers." Shaw said as he smirked at Yayoi just before closing the cart door.

"I'll show him a crazy plan," Yayoi said under her breath as she heard Shaw leaving first and then the nurse started pushing the breakfast cart about five minutes later. It took a few minutes to get to the other hallway around the corner out of sight from the window across the way where Tobias kept watch.

The nurse stopped the cart right in front of the stairway and knocked on the top of the cart as a signal they were at their destination. Yayoi got out and went through the door as she was making her way down the stairs and to the main floor to the parking garage where Shaw was waiting.

Detective Shaw stood by his car leaning on the opened door, "What took you?"

"Haha real funny. Let's just get going." Yayoi replied as she got into the passenger side of his car.

Once he saw Yayoi was secured he got in and drove out of the parking lot towards the direction of the safe house.

Tobias took a drink of his coffee, as he stared at the guards across the way from where he sat. He frowned a bit when he noticed the two of them were leaving their posts. 'Where are they going? Is it time for them to switch shifts?' He kept his eyes riveted to their position and saw no other guards replacing the two who left. 'Hmmm, what's going on? Wait, could she? No.' Tobias set his coffee down and stood as he made his way to the entrance and started walking towards Yayoi's private room. When he arrived he noticed she was gone. 'Damn!' Reaching for his cell he dialed, "Maverick, where are you?"

Maverick wiped his hands on a rag and answered his cell, "Tobias what's with you?"

"Detective Date slipped out of the hospital. I don't know where she went or how long she's been gone. I've been here the whole time and I didn't see her leave the room once."

"I can't believe you lost her!" Maverick shouted he rubbed his forehead with his other hand as if he had a headache. He then lowered it down, "Who all came to visit her?"

"Besides, her family, the hospital staff, a few from the prescient and detective Shaw this morning."

"Shaw! Damn him! Well, looks like they're going to be hard to track since they're no longer under your watchful eye."

"Shut it Maverick! We have more important things to worry about than those two running loose. More in likely they'll be going to a safe house for the time being."

"What else do we have to worry about Tobias?"

"The guy I sent to detective Date's home to search for the evidence she has on me sent me a message he has company. More in likely it's her brother and his friends. I need for you and your brother to go and run interference so my driver can get out with the evidence."

"Why should we go and run interference?"

"Because for one, you'll be able to deal with golden boy and whoever is with him. Plus if they get the evidence to the prescient, then I'll be taking you both down with me!"

"Alright, fine we're going," Maverick grumbled as he hung up and slammed the hood down. "Hey, Reno! Come on!"

Reno looked up from his searching program, "What's the matter?"

"We need to go to detective Date's place and run interference for Tobias. Golden boy will be there and so will his friends. Come on, get a move on!" Maverick replied as he got into his car and started the engine.

Reno hurried to the car and got in the passenger side, "I wasn't finished tracking down their cells."

"It doesn't matter right now, you can finish it later," Maverick said as he took off speeding out of the garage and towards detective Date's home.

At detective Date's home, Tobias's driver saw the message he received from his boss. 'Reinforcements. Good, but only Maverick and Reno? Couldn't they picked up more backup? Maybe they will on their way here. In the meantime, it took a while but I finally found the evidence. Now I'm trapped here.'

"Alright Sage, since this is your sister's home how did you want to do this?" Ryo asked as he looked at him. He and the others stood across the street watching the front window.

"Kento And Cye, go around and wait at the back door, more in likely when Kaye and I approach from the front, he'll try and bolt either through us from the front or at you and Cye from the back. Ryo, I need you and Rowen to be ready with the cars just in case he gets past us."

"Sounds fine to me." Rowen held up his hand and Kaye tossed him her keys while Sage gave the keys to Ryo.

Rowen walked to Kaye's car and got into the driver's seat while Ryo got into Sage's car and watched as the four of them approached the house.

Cye and Kento went about half a block out of the way and circled back to the back door, making sure to avoid any of the windows so the one inside wouldn't see them. Once they arrived the two of them got ready just in case he bolted out the back door.

Sage looked over at Kaye as the two of them started for the front door, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Sage, I..." Before she could continue Maverick skidded his car in front of them and cut the two off from the front door. "Hey!"

Maverick and Reno exited out of the car and smirked, "Gomen, I guess I should have watched where I was going."

Sage narrowed his eyes at them, "You almost ran us down on purpose!"

Reno laughed as he threw his head back, "When we ran together you thought it was fun doing the same thing golden boy. So you're saying it's different when the shoe is on the other foot?"

"I had better control than your crazy brother!" Sage shot back at him in a challenging tone.

"You want to go golden boy? We can go right here right now." Maverick replied as he moved to a better position.

Sage narrowed his eyes at him and moved into a fighting stance, "I've been waiting a long time for this Maverick. You and your crew are going to pay for putting my sister in the hospital."

"We didn't put your sister in the hospital it was one of the drivers who work for Tobias," Reno said as he walked in front of Kaye with a smirk.

Kaye narrowed her eyes at him as she set her self into a fighting position as well.

"It doesn't matter, we figured out you two and Tobias are working together. So to me, it's all the same. Don't worry, Tobias will get his too. You can count on it." Sage replied in a cold tone.

Ryo and Rowen were about to get out of the cars they were in but they too were cut off from a couple of other drivers who Reno called in when they were driving to Yayoi's home.

Kento climbed up into the tree to get a better look. His fist clenched as a low growl emitted from his throat.

"Hey, what's going on?" Cye asked as he kept his eyes on the backdoor.

"Maverick cut in front of Sage and Kaye blocking them from the front door. It looks like they're going to fight." Kento replied as he leaped down from the tree.

"What about Ryo and Rowen? Couldn't they help?"

Kento shook his head, "They were cut off too. It's up to us to get the guy inside. They can take care of themselves. Come on Cye."

Cye gave a nod signaling him he was ready. The two of them charged into Yayoi's house and faced off with the intruder inside.

"Hey, buddy! Just where do you think you're going?" Kento challenged as he glared straight at the intruder.

"You people are a pain you know."

"Yeah, we get told all the time. But we keep interfering anyway. So why don't you put back whatever you took? You can either do it the easy way or the hard way." Kento offered him.

The intruder reached inside his pocket and pulled out a switchblade.

Cye and Kento glanced at one another, "Why do they always choose the hard way?"

"I don't know man, but it makes more fun for me!" Kento exclaimed as he watched the short-bladed knife sprang from its leather sheath and smirked. "You're kidding me, right? You're going to take the two of us down with a tiny blade?"

The intruder narrowed his eyes at Kento and growled low in his throat, he didn't understand why either of them was phased by a blade pointed at them. 'I don't get it, why are they so calm about this? If I don't do something and fast they're going to get the jump on me.'

Cye glanced around and saw a vase, he picked it up and chucked it at the intruder's hand which held the small blade. He was stunned when it flew out of his hand at the same time Kento took his opportunity and tackled the intruder into the wall.

The intruder banged his back hard on impact. He winced internally as he was trying to move. Keeping his focus on Kento and Cye as he peeled himself from the wall. "Ok, you two got me good. Now, I think payback is in order." The intruder said as he launched his leg out and drove it into Kento's midsection driving him back a short way. Following up with whirling around and catching the point of his elbow into Cye's jaw making him stagger a bit.

Cye placed his hand up to his jaw and worked it a little. "Ow..."

Kento winced a bit when he felt the kick to his midsection. "Man didn't see either of those coming. Not bad."

"Heh, you two just made this interesting for me. Thanks. Now then, shall we continue?" He asked while he had one hand beckoning them, daring the two of them to come to him.


	9. Chapter 9

Rowen was about to open the driver's side door when he heard a couple of clicks close to his head, "I suggest you remove your hands from the door and put them on the steering wheel, slowly, unless you want a bullet in your head blue boy."

"You too, move your hands! Now!" The second driver barked at Ryo as he stood outside Ryo's door with a gun towards his head as well.

"Alright, fine, just relax, I'm moving my hands. See, nice and slow. There's no need to..."

"Quiet! I didn't say you could talk! Just move your hands!"

They've been through so many battles with their lives on the line day in and day out they knew it was better to keep their cool. But this time it was a little different, they haven't dealt with people having guns cocked at their heads. So at the moment all Rowen and Ryo could do was follow through with what they were told. They had to figure out how to get out of their mess as soon as possible without anyone getting shot. So many thoughts ran through their heads. How serious were they? Would these two shoot them without a second thought?

Kaye and Sage looked over towards their friends who were being held by gunpoint. They started to move until.

"I wouldn't unless of course, you want them to go through with it. I promise you, they will shoot."

Kaye readjusted her fighting stance as she narrowed her eyes at Reno. She could see he was enjoying the moment. 'This crew is crazy. They would resort to using guns to settle their disputes? I thought they'd have more honor and race or something else. But shooting people?'

Reno chuckled as his eyes gleamed, "Good choice, so you two are smart enough to not put your friends in further danger."

Sage watched them a bit longer and then turned his attention back to Maverick, "I thought better of you. Back in the day, we never once had any guns in the crew. You forbade anyone to carry. So why now?"

Maverick smirked as he kept his sights on him, "Times change, and so do people golden boy. I have no problem using guns anymore. As long as the job gets done, I don't care how. I told you before, you're going to pay for what you did to me."

"This whole vendetta is wrong. It wasn't Sage's fault what happened. Tobias was the one who sabotaged Maverick's car before they raced." Kaye interjected as she glanced towards him.

Reno frowned, "What are you talking about? Tobias wasn't even around back then. How do you know about what happened anyway? Wait, let me guess, golden boy finally told all of you our history. It doesn't matter, he's going to pay and the rest of you are going to as well."

"No Reno, Tobias was there back then. She's right, Rowen got it on video when he came the day of our race." Sage replied trying to bide time.

"Come on Sage, you expect me to believe you? Where's your proof?"

"Rowen saved his videos and sent them to each of us. We even have a picture of what Tobias looked like back then and what he looks like now. If you would just call off your crew and let us show you." Sage was trying hard to persuade him as he slowly reached for his cell. "I remember how you were against having photos taken because of other crews might see what we had under the hood of our cars so they could try to make their cars better and outrace us. But since he was trained as a reporter, he could sneak in a video recorder with no problem."

A deep and disturbing laugh came from Maverick, "Of course I know who Tobias is golden boy. I've always known, it's why we joined crews. He has more of what I was looking for in him than you ever did. I knew back then how dangerous he was, and how dangerous he is now. Just like he knows the same of me. We staged the whole thing! I knew Tobias sabotaged my car, I told him to!"

Reno glanced at his brother with a quizzical expression, 'What? Did I have it all wrong? My brother and Tobias knew one another? Did he tell him to sabotage his car? I don't understand.'

Kaye studied Reno, for a moment she saw the confusion in his eyes, 'Reno didn't know about their deal. Why would Maverick keep his brother in the dark with something like this?'

Sage blinked in confusion as he moved his hand away from his pocket, "Why would you tell him to do such a thing? Didn't you realize what you were risking?"

"Sure he did! So did we golden boy. We just had to make it look convincing enough so we could pay back your father's prescient for busting us. It was all for revenge, and you Sage fell for it so easily." Maverick taunted, "Now if you don't mind, hand over your cells so we can get rid of the evidence."

"Not going to happen. You're going to have to take them from us." Sage replied in an angered tone.

Reno and Maverick glanced at one another and gave a nod as they reached behind their backs and whipped out a gun at their targets.

Sage and Kaye stepped back from the guns pointed at them. These two were serious, they were going to shoot just like the other two holding Rowen and Ryo at gunpoint.

The two who were waiting by the cars Rowen and Ryo were sitting in turned their attention away from them for a moment. Just then two car horns blared hard and loud making the two move their guns away and covered their ears. Rowen and Ryo wasted no time and pulled the handles as they shoved the driver side doors at them and dove out of the cars as they wrestled with the two on the ground.

'If I don't time this just right, then I..No, this has gone on long enough!' Sage thought to himself as he saw Maverick starting to aim. Just as he saw him squeeze the trigger he dove for cover behind a tree just as the screaming slugs slammed into the space he'd occupied seconds before. Breathing hard he narrowed his eyes and steadied himself behind the tree. He could feel his heart racing, his adrenaline roaring in his ears.

"I suggest you two get off of my crew right this instant, the first shots were warning ones, next time they won't be so I suggest you two follow through with what I said," Maverick ordered as he cocked his gun a second time.

Rowen and Ryo held down the two on the ground as they looked towards the others when they heard Maverick's demand. "Alright! We're getting up don't shoot!" Ryo shouted back as he and Rowen released the ones they had pinned and stood up next to the cars.

Sage reached for his cell and did a quick text, 'guns shot at Yayoi Date's home send backup.' Then he put the cell away and glanced around the tree staying behind it for cover. He steadied himself getting his breathing back under control. Once he felt he was back in control Sage stepped out from behind the tree and faced Reno and Maverick. "The two of you have changed over the years, I thought better of the two of you."

"Who do you think you are going all high and mighty with us? You threw away your life of racing when you walked away from my brother and me. How could you have turned your back on family? Oh wait, I guess it gets easier turning your back on people since you've walked away from your other family first." Maverick reminded him. "Do you plan to walk out on your friends' too golden boy?"

Sage winced a bit internally, true enough it was his fault for walking out on both families. If he didn't then maybe things would have turned out better. He and his father might be talking and Maverick might not be teamed up with Tobias to carry out whatever they have planned.

Kaye glanced at Sage and then focused her attention back at Reno as she took a step towards him, "You're crazier than I thought. Sage wouldn't walk out on his friends. He's a better person now."

Reno raised a brow towards her, "Want to test your theory? I think it would be interesting to see if you're right about him or not." Faster than anyone realized Reno reached out and took hold of Kaye's wrist and yanked her towards him, securing her to his body while holding his gun on her.

Kaye struggled a bit testing out the strength of his hold. 'He's stronger than I thought, faster too. Stay calm. Why did it have to be guns? I hate guns.' She felt the cold nozzle of the gun dig into her side and stopped her struggling as she glanced at her friends.

"Come on man, you're better than this. Release Kaye and we'll walk away from this." Rowen chimed in as he talked to him in a calm tone.

A clicking sound could be heard when Reno pulled back on the hammer, "Stay back, don't you even think of coming any closer if you value her life."

Ryo narrowed his eyes at the brothers. He was about to speak, but then he saw Sage moving from the corner of his eye.

Sage took a few steps closer, "Reno, I'm warning you. Let her go now."

Reno laughed as he kept his hold, "What are you going to do if I don't, hmm? Tell me."

"It isn't what I'm going to do to you if you don't let her go. It's what she's going to do." Sage warned with a slight smirk as he caught her eye.

Kaye picked up on his intention. She dropped her head forward and then snapped it straight back hard and fast nailing Reno dead onto his nose. When she felt him loosen his grip just enough, Kaye leaned forward and grabbed his leg and yanked up so he would land on his back. She kicked his gun out of the way and shifted into a fighting stance.

Reno glared at Kaye from the ground as he cupped his bleeding nose. "I'll get you back for this bitch! You broke my frickin' nose!"

"Tch, whatever, since you held a gun on me, I'd say we're even."

Just as Kaye launched her escape, Sage took the opportunity and kicked the gun out of Maverick's hand and delivered a few jabs to his face and then finished off with an uppercut.

Maverick landed on the ground laying on his side rubbing his pounding head. Glancing around he couldn't believe these four took out him and his crew in just a few moves. His thoughts turned back to the crew member inside who was suppose to be gathering the evidence the detective hid in her house. 'If they took us out, then more is likely the other two would have no problem taking out the one inside. We might have to go more into desperate measures.'

Rowen and Ryo whirled around at the same time and in the confusion knocked the guns out of the other two from the crew and sent them flying into a couple of trees a few feet behind them.

"Nice kick Rowen, but the execution could have been a little better."

Rowen raised a brow at him, "What are you talking about? My kick was on point. He went further than your guy."

Ryo gave a small nod, "Yes, but it was mainly because you're faster, I'm more accurate."

"Aww man, come on, seriously!"

Sage glanced over towards them, "Hey, would you two mind saving this debate for another time? We're not done yet."

'You're right about one thing golden boy, we're not done, not by a long shot.' Reno thought as he lowered his bloody hand from his nose and scrambled to his feet. He raced to his car and took out a remote. A drone flew out from the backseat and hovered next to him.

"What in the world?" Ryo asked when he turned his attention towards Reno.

"It's a drone. By the looks of it, pretty advanced in design." Rowen replied as he studied the hovering object.

"Thanks, it's mine, and I have plenty more where this one came from just waiting for me to program their next orders," Reno said as he maneuvered the controller and made it fly towards Sage's and Kaye's vehicles. When it was close enough, Reno pushed a button and made the drone self-destruct taking both vehicles with it. A series of explosions lifted both burning cars off of their wheels. Once they landed, hunks of metal were ripped away in a fiery mess. The raging wall of fire rose higher, fueled by ruptured fuel tanks.

Their eyes went wide as they dove behind what they could for cover as razor shrapnel cut through the smoke-filled air.

Taking the advantage, Maverick and Reno raced to their car and took off as the other two ran to their cars and drove away as well.

Inside of Yayoi's home Kento, Cye and the one crew member remaining turned their attention to the explosion outside. "Well, looks like you have a choice to make, stay here and take me down, or go out there and see if your friends are still alive. Which will it be boys?"

Kento and Cye glanced at one another, there was no choice to be made, the two of them raced out of Yayoi's house and across the street as the allowed the remaining crew member escape with the evidence he was to find.

Kento's and Cye's eyes went wide when they saw both cars up in flames and a mountain of smoke billowing above. They shielded themselves as they crossed the street. "Kaye! Rowen! Sage! Ryo!" The two yelled out searching for them hoping they were alright.

"Kento! Cye! We're over here!" Ryo shouted over towards them from behind a large van.

They raced over towards them, concern laced in their eyes when they saw the others sitting on the ground with their backs against the van. "Anyone hurt?"

"Besides, being sore, and a few scrapes it seems we're ok. What about you two? Looks like you had a bit of a hard time with the one inside?" Sage asked when he and the others took their time getting to their feet.

"Same, but most of all fine. Sorry, Sage but he got away with the evidence your sister collected on Tobias." Cye replied as they walked around the van and watched as the two cars continuing to burn.

Sage sighed as he closed his eyes, and after a few moments, he opened them again, "It's fine Cye. The most important thing is we're all ok. We'll have to figure out how to take them down another way."

Kento looked over towards Sage, "How did your cars blow up anyway?"

"Reno built a drone and flew it over to them and made it self-destruct." Rowen answered, "Though I'm impressed someone like him could build something so advanced."

Kento raised a brow towards him, "A what?"

"Drone, a small flying robot which can be programmed to do just about anything the programmer wants it to," Rowen explained still a bit fascinated by the idea.

"So now what? We can't stay around here, the cops might believe we had something to do with the two cars blowing up." Cye asked as he glanced around at them.

"I sent a message, they'll be arriving soon enough. Besides, the neighbors more likely called the cops so Cye has a point we shouldn't be here when they arrive. We don't have all of the answers yet." Sage explained and smirked a bit when he heard familiar engines revving close by. "Sounds like they're here." Sage walked out into the middle of the street and flagged them down.

"You always knew how to make yourself known didn't you golden boy." Dominic teased as she got out of her car.

"Hey Sparks, I see you got my message. What took you?" Sage teased back as he walked over towards her.

Dominic rolled her eyes, "Oh you know, traffic, the continuous construction, the cops. Which are on their way here along with the fire trucks. I heard their dispatcher over the radio. So if you and your friends don't want to stick around then I suggest we get going."

Kento raised a brow with a smirk, "Is it me, or does it look like those two are getting back together?"

Rowen shook his head as he hit Kento in the back of his, "Come on, it looks like we have our ride."

"Rowen!" Kento scowled as he rubbed the back of his head a bit and then lowered his hand and followed him.

"So what are we to do now Ryo?" Cye asked as he glanced over towards him as he and the others walked towards Dominic's crew.

"The only thing we can do now Cye is to go with Dominic's crew and figure out our next move. We're going to have to stay out of sight for a while, I wouldn't doubt if Reno can program his drone to self-destruct, then he might be able to try and track us through them as well." Ryo figured as they walked up to Dominic and Sage.

Rowen gave a nod, "Sounds possible. Especially if he's as smart as he seems to be. We might have to figure out a different angle to use to take them down."

"I think I might have one, but it isn't all the way thought out yet." Kaye offered while looking over at Rowen.

"What are you thinking?"

"Well, when Maverick was boasting to Sage about him knowing about Tobias back in the day. I noticed Reno was confused about what his brother said. He had no idea they struck a deal to have Tobias sabotage Maverick's car." Kaye started to explain.

Dominic raised a brow towards her, "So you're saying, to take down Maverick and Tobias, we'll have to see if we can flip Reno? He's not going to flip on his brother. They're tight."

Sage nodded, "She's right, it'll be too hard to convince Reno to turn in his brother."

One of Dom's crew leaned out of his window and looked at the group, "Hey, mind if we talk about this somewhere else? They're only a few blocks away, so unless you want to go downtown? I suggest we get going, now."

Dom gave a nod, "Alright! Everyone! Get into a vehicle and let's get moving!" Getting into her car she started it up, glancing over she saw Sage taking the passenger seat. The two of them smiled at one another and then she leads them away from Yayoi's home.

Sage glanced in the review mirror and saw his friends going into the remaining cars and they followed right after. 'I can just imagine what my father would be thinking when he hears about this. He already has his mindset against me, so this would make it worse. I don't know if we can come back as a family after this.'

Dominic glanced at Sage and noticed his distraction, "Hey, everything will work out, you'll see. Tobias and Maverick will be taken down, and we'll put a stop to their crew."

Glancing towards her he gave a small nod. "Sparks, know of any place where we'd be able to get a few new cars?"

Dominic smirked at him, "You bet I do. They're the best in the city. We just received some new ones a couple of days ago."

"Received? You mean racing for keys?"

"Is there any other way to get a new car?" Dominic teased with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Sage chuckled, he knew Dom would never change no matter what. It's what he liked about her. She told it like it was and didn't care how others felt. It was the reason why Sage left Dom in charge when he left the crew. Well, one of the few reasons why she was a good leader. She cared for the ones who stuck around like family. It was the way it was supposed to be. It didn't matter where someone came from, just as long as you didn't cross her she would do whatever it took to keep her crew together. But, if you crossed her, then you better take cover.


	10. Chapter 10

Maverick pulled over to the side when he saw the one they were searching for. He parked it but kept the engine idling. Rolling down the window and frowned at him. "Did you get the evidence?"

"Of course I got it. It's right here, but what I don't get is why did Tobias send you two as back up?"

Maverick reached out and grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him closer to the window, "Listen here punk! My brother and I are at the top with Tobias in this combined crew. So watch how you come off to us. In other words, don't question us got it?"

"Yes...Yes of course. I'm used to getting orders from Tobias. I didn't mean any disrespect."

Maverick sighed, "Forget it. Anyway, where is the evidence you were supposed to retrieve from the detective's home?"

"I have it right here, but I was instructed to give it to Tobias himself, no one else."

Reno was still annoyed from the street fight, 'I can't believe I was taken down by a girl! Man, it's embarrassing! Top it off she broke my nose! Well, at least I blew up her and golden boy's car. So it wasn't all a waste.' He glanced at his brother from the corner of his eye still not too happy with him either with what he found out about what happened back then. "Just let him in the car. We have to get going before the cops figure out where we are."

"You heard my brother, get in," Maverick said as he let go of the guy's shirt. He waited until the crew member hurried into the back of his car and took off towards the garage. 'Damn it! I was hoping Reno wouldn't have found out about the plan Tobias and I had back then when he sabotaged my car. I'm going to have to let Tobias know unless Reno gets it out first. I'm not sure how he'll react to Reno finding out, but I guess I'll see soon enough since we're going to meet up with him.' Maverick kept his focus on the road, "Hey Reno, how are you feeling? Did you need me to stop anywhere?"

"Oh, now you become all brotherly concerned about how I'm doing? I'll be fine, I don't need you to stop anywhere for pain meds, I can take something when we reach the garage." Reno grumbled as he kept looking out the passenger window. 'I still can't believe him. After all these years, he had me believing golden boy was the one who caused his accident. Why? He mentioned about having revenge against the prescient who arrested us for street racing, but I'm starting to wonder if there was some other reason, or am I reading too much into it?'

"Look Reno, we both did our homework, and we found out Date and his friends were trained in the martial arts. So we should have been ready for them. There's no need for you to get angry with me." Maverick replied as he took the next turn.

Reno turned his full attention upon his brother with a raised brow. "Seriously! Not get angry with you? Are you kidding me right now! Of course, I'm angry! Why shouldn't I be?"

Maverick glanced at him from the corner of his eye, "Look, I can pull over and you can walk the rest of the way! So unless you feel like walking then I suggest we save this conversation for after we meet up with Tobias!"

Raising his hand, he waved off his brother, "Yeah, yeah whatever," Returning his gaze out towards the passenger window.

Maverick sighed internally, he knew this was going to be a hard conversation to have with his brother. But now since it was all out in the open, it was unavoidable. Driving about twenty minutes he arrived at the entrance of the garage on the outskirts of the city. Pulling into the private entrance he gave the guard at the door a nod and drove through. Maverick pulled his car into the garage and shut it off. The three of them exited his car and walked over towards Tobias who was waiting for their arrival.

Tobias glanced at his watch and then at the three of them as they approached, "Took a bit didn't it?" Narrowing his eyes at the crew member as he waited for his explanation. "Well?"

Pulling out the evidence from his hiding place, he handed it over to him, "Sorry Tobias, there were complications. But it's all there, I swear it."

Tobias grabbed the evidence from him and leafed through it. "Fine," Walking over towards a garbage can he reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. Bringing the two together he lit the evidence on fire. He watched the evidence as it was encased in flames and then dropped it into the garbage can. Waiting a bit for the lighter to cool, he then put it back into his pocket. "Remember what I told you about what I do to those who fail me?"

"But I didn't fail you, Tobias, I got the evidence just like you ordered."

"Yes, you did, but you forced my hand and had me get Maverick and Reno involved to bail you out. I thought you were better than your predecessor, but I guess I was wrong." Tobias replied as he turned his full attention upon him now.

"No sir, you weren't wrong about me. I've done everything you've asked of me."

Tobias raised a brow towards him as he came within arms distance. "Everything? Really? Let's review. I told you to take care of Detective Date, but she survived her car accident and is now in hiding. Then I asked you to get me the evidence she had on me. You retrieved it, yes, but Maverick and Reno had to come to your aid. I don't see how either of those situations was called successful do you?" Reaching up towards the crew member's head he secured his hands to either side. "You know I don't give a third chance. Two chances are all anyone is allowed to have, so now your service to me is terminated." Within a blink of an eye, a gruesome snap was heard and then his head rolled at a crazy angle as his body dropped to the floor. Tobias stared at the broken body laying on the floor. He then looked up towards Maverick and Reno. "It was going to happen sooner or later. I was just doing what was necessary. I'll have someone take care of disposing of the body later. Now then, the evidence against me is gone and one less failure has been taken care of, we can get along with our business."

Maverick and Reno glanced at one another from the corner of their eyes. "Tobias..."

Looking up towards them when he heard his name, "Oh, sorry, I guess I should have finished with him in private. Oh well. It's done. So, going by how the both of you look, things didn't go well when you ran across them."

"It could have gone better. But we still ended up with the upper hand. Reno blew up their cars with his drone as payback. So they'll be taking a while recovering from our street fight." Maverick replied as the three of them started walking towards the center of the garage.

Tobias raised a brow towards Reno and gave a nod, "I'm impressed your brother said you were good, I just didn't know how good until now."

"Yeah, well why did I have to find out you and my brother planned to sabotage his car all those years ago from golden boy and his friends? Don't deny it, Maverick already confirmed his part of the story." Reno shot back in slight annoyance.

Tobias gave a small chuckle, "Direct and to the point. I like a man who knows what he wants. You don't waste time. Yes, your brother and I did plan to sabotage his car before the race with golden boy all those years ago. The reason you weren't told about it then was because you were too young to handle it. I wasn't sure if you'd be trustworthy enough to keep such an important secret. Would you have been able to live with the secret for all these years?"

"It doesn't matter, Maverick is my brother! I deserved to know."

"Alright, in hindsight, I guess it was wrong of us to keep such a plan from you but we were short on time. We needed you to be convincing enough to have golden boy feel guilty about the accident so he would be shamed from street racing once and for all. He wasn't supposed to join your crew to start with anyway." Tobias explained as they made it to the work area at the center of the garage.

Reno looked over at his brother, "Then if he wasn't supposed to be in our crew, why did you allow him to join?"

"Because little brother, we needed a patsy. An in to get at the prescient, and someone to be the scapegoat for the race. It worked out perfectly considering golden boy's father runs the very prescient we were trying to bring down in the first place." Maverick explained as he leaned back against a half pile of tires.

Tobias studied Reno, "Now you know the whole story. Can we count on you to be loyal to the crew?"

Reno crossed his arms and glared at Tobias, "You're being rather daring questioning my loyalty. Considering I'm one of the top three in this crew, plus I would never abandon my brother for any reason. No matter what he did or didn't do. But question me again about my loyalty, you'll find out how much of a mistake you made but not before it's too late."

A deep laugh erupted from Tobias' throat, "I like you! You're gutsy! You dare talk to me like you did even after I killed someone from the crew right before your eyes with my bare hands."

Reno walked over to the fridge and opened it. Reaching inside he pulled out an ice pack and then a beer. He shut the door and turned around as he leaned against the fridge. "Yeah well, I didn't ask for your approval."

Maverick shook his head at them, "Ok are you two done with your bonding? We have a major problem we need to take care of if you two don't mind?"

"Of course, you're always about business Maverick. Alright, well since Detective Date is in the wind, we can't do anything about her. She isn't a threat anymore since her evidence went up in flames. But her brother and his friends, they are our new focus." Tobias pointed out as he sat down on the nearest chair.

"Right, more in likely golden boy has talked with his old connection, Dominic. So more likely, they'll work together and try to take us down. So things are going to get a bit dicey." Maverick brought up.

"At the moment, we can't do anything about Dom's crew. If golden boy and his friends teamed up with them, then it's out of our hands. So in the meantime, the best we can do is keep our eyes and ears out while still running our crew all over the city."

"So then, business as usual," Maverick stated as he gave a nod. "Fine by me. Hey Reno, think you can get more of those drones sent out into the city?"

Reno rested the ice pack on his broken nose, he seethed a bit internally from the combination of the cold and the pain. "Yeah, easily. How soon did you need them out there anyway?"

"As soon as possible. The sooner the better. We need to be able to see and hear everything they're doing. It'll be easier keeping tabs on them with the drones instead of using the rest of the crew since they'll be busy." Tobias replied leaning back in his chair. "It shouldn't be a problem for you should it?"

"No, a piece of cake. My brother will have those drones up and operational in no time." Maverick replied as he glanced at him.

Elsewhere in a different part of the city, Detectives Shaw and Date arrived at one of the safe houses and were inside after they ditched the car he drove.

"I better check in with headquarters and let them know we arrived."

"Just make sure you go by secure channels, the last thing we need is to be traced here you know." Yayoi shot back as she sat in a recliner.

Shaw raised a brow towards her as he reached for a burner phone, "Hey this isn't my first time hiding someone in a safe house."

"You could have fooled me. Another thing, who taught you how to drive?"

A deep frown came upon his face, "What's wrong with my driving? I was the best in my class for your information."

"Well you should retake it, you drive worse than an old woman! I mean come on, could you have driven any slower?" Yayoi asked in slight annoyance, "I mean come on, I could have gotten out and run faster."

"Haha, real funny. For your information, I don't drive worse than an old woman. I was only going slow because of your injuries." Shaw replied as he was dialing.

Yayoi waved him off as she smiled at him in a teasing manner. She gave Shaw some peace as he started talking on the burner phone. 'I appreciate him being concerned about my injuries. But I'm more angry with the fact he shanghaied me to a safe house in a random part of the city! More in likely it was my father's idea so I shouldn't be getting so angry with Shaw. I wonder how Sage and his friends are doing? Did they find Tobias? What kind of trouble did they get into? Oh! It's driving me crazy being out of the loop on this case!' Yayoi frowned a bit when she saw him walking away from her so she couldn't hear what he was saying on the phone. Yayoi scowled at him when he walked away from her. She reached for a pillow and winced when she threw it at the back of his head. The pain was worth it because the pillow hit right on target.

Shaw turned around and scowled right back at her. He lowered the phone, "Do you mind?"

Yayoi crossed her arms when she leaned back in the recliner, "Get back over here so I can hear what you're saying on the phone. You're going to have to tell me about the conversation when you're done anyway."

"No I don't have to tell you anything, this is a private conversation."

"Come on! We both know you're talking to someone at headquarters. So come over here so I can hear too, or better yet put it on speaker."

"This burner doesn't have a speaker option."

Yayoi raised a brow at him, "Cheap burner phone. Fine, then if you're not going to come closer I'll kick your sorry ass for not working with me on this case."

"Come on Date, you can't fight me right now, not in your condition."

"Fine Shaw, then I'll fight you when I'm recovered. Then I'll kick your ass back at the prescient in front of everyone!"

"Ok, ok fine. You win! I'll come over and let you listen to the conversation." Shaw walked over towards Yayoi and sat down on the couch next to her. "Happy?"

Yayoi grinned as she gave a small nod, "Yes, thank you."

Shaw grumbled a little under his breath before going back to the person on the other side.

"What did you say? I didn't quite catch it."

Shaw pulled the mouthpiece away a bit, "Nothing Date, just sit back and relax. Concentrate more on healing than my conversation. I'll tell you everything when I'm done. Fair?"

A deep thinking expression played upon her face, "Fair enough." She replied getting a little more comfortable in the recliner. If Yayoi had to admit it, she was starting to feel a little more tired than she wanted to say. She wasn't going to tell him though, Yayoi had her Date pride to consider. Throughout her life, her pride was the one thing which she did kick herself mentally from time to time because of how much she hurt Shaw when she didn't go along with what he said even though she knew he was right. One of these days she knew she would have to apologize to him. But now wasn't the time, she was more concerned about her brother and his friends than anything else.

Shaw scowled when he heard what was told to him next, "You've got to be kidding me? Any..." He glanced over at Yayoi and then away from her, "Bodies identified?"

Yayoi felt her heart leap into her throat when she heard him ask the question. She looked over towards him with concern in her eyes.

"Alright, thanks I'll make sure to fill her in on everything. Keep us informed. I'll get in contact with you later."

Yayoi watched Shaw put the burner phone away before she asked, "What's going on? Why did you ask if there were any bodies? Was it about my brother and his friends?"

Shaw turned his full attention towards her, "It is about them, but don't worry there were no bodies found. Seems like there was a street fight between Maverick and Reno against Sage and the others. They ran across someone from Tobias' crew breaking into your home and stealing the evidence you had against him. There was also an explosion. Two cars were blown up by a drone. Turns out the cars blown up were owned by your brother and Kaye. No one was in or near them when the drone self-detonated. It was used as a diversion so Maverick and Reno could getaway along with the one who broke into your house. They're all safe as far as we know."

Yayoi frowned, "What do you mean by as far as we know?"

"Turns out they disappeared. Some neighbors saw them getting into different cars and then taking off in the opposite direction of Maverick and Reno. The neighbors could not tell how injured they were, but they must be alright for the most part since they were seen walking to the cars which were waiting for them.."

Yayoi let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed a little from the news, "I'm glad they're safe, but I wonder who they rode off with. I wish Sage would get in contact with us then we can at least talk to him."

"We can't remember, no contact until the case is over, you know just as well as I do it's how cases like these have to be Yayoi."

"I know, it's just hard to be out of the loop when a major case like this is going on and nothing can be done because you're sitting on the sidelines."

"Yayoi, there's something else I need to talk with you about. It isn't related to the case at all, but some clarification is in order."

Looking at Shaw with a confused expression, "What's more important than this case?"

"Be patient with me and I'll tell you. See, when we split up last year, there were some facts you didn't know about when it came to our relationship."

"Shaw, I don't..."

"Yayoi, please, let me tell you what I want to say and then you can make your decision alright?" He waited for a short while then she gave a nod telling him to continue. "Anyway, to the reason why we broke up was mainly because of an undercover case I was working at the time. My mind was going to a dark place and I was having a hard time getting out of it. So I took it out on our relationship. I was in so deep a cover I let it consume me and made me think I wasn't good enough for you no matter how hard I tried. So I just stop trying with us. I know it shouldn't have been an excuse to explain how I acted, but at the time I cared about nothing nor anyone. I almost threw away my career until your brother snapped me out of it."

"Sage? What does he have to do with your story?"

"He helped me see what a good thing I was throwing away. I didn't realize his full meaning until after we broke up. I...I'm sorry for putting you through such hardship. It wasn't right of me to do so. For a long time afterward, I often wondered if breaking up was the right thing to do. After a while, I started to think it was a mistake for us not to be together. I don't know if you want the same as me with a relationship, but if I can start with your forgiveness it'll work for me."

"Shaw..."

"Yayoi...You don't need to tell me right now. Take all the time you need, and once you feel comfortable enough to tell me your answer then I'll be available to listen. In the meantime, I'll stay as your partner and friend until you tell me otherwise. Fair enough?"

Yayoi thought about his words carefully, and then some time passed and she smiled at him as she gave a small nod, "Fair enough."


	11. Chapter 11

Dominic sighed as she rubbed her temples. They've been discussing for the last couple of hours what their next moves shall be, no one came to an agreeable solution. The main thing they kept on doing was butting heads over the suggestion of flipping Reno over on his brother. "Look, I don't understand why you won't let this go? It won't work, I keep telling you over and over again. Reno is too loyal to his brother. No matter how many times Maverick does him wrong, he's going to stick by him because he's family. Even a gaijin like you can understand the concept right?"

Kaye raised a brow at the comment Dominic labeled her with and let it slide but internally she was fuming, 'How dare she call me gaijin! The main saving grace she has is she use to go out with Sage. Because if she was anyone else we would be having words.' Closing her eyes she concentrated on getting herself back under control. Kaye opened her eyes and looked towards her, "I don't understand why you're being so closed-minded about the suggestion. Yes, I understand family doesn't turn on family. But you weren't there when he found out the truth Maverick finally revealed to us. He was caught by surprise and confused. He didn't understand why his brother kept something like this from him."

Lowering her hands Dominic looked directly back at her, "I understand well enough. Sage, Rowen, and I knew Reno and Maverick from back in the day. You and your friends only met up with them recently. My guess as to why he didn't tell Reno might be because he was too young to understand his brother's reasoning for his team up with Tobias against Sage and his father. I think Maverick just didn't want Reno to be involved with their plan in the first place so it's another reason I can think of why he didn't tell him about it."

Rowen stood and got between the two women, "Hey, let's take a break for a while. Then afterward we can see if we can find some other solutions to what we're going to do."

"I agree with Rowen, a break is the best idea at the moment. Besides, fighting with one another won't help us either. Knowing them, they're already putting their next part of their plan into action while we sit around and fight with each other. We need to have level heads and think outside of the box to figure out the best way to put down their crew once and for all." Sage pointed out as he glanced between Dominic and Kaye.

Dominic studied Sage and gave a nod as she sat back in her chair behind her desk. She watched as the others left her office one by one, all except for Sage as he stayed seated. The two waited until Rowen shut the door to her office before either one spoke.

"You know I don't appreciate the gaijin term, Dom."

"Gomen Sage. I'm just frustrated about me and my crew being brought into this mess again."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to and you know it."

Dominic raised a brow towards him, her voice was a bit icy, "I suppose, what is she to you anyway, your girlfriend or something?"

A deep laugh erupted from his throat. He shook his head in amusement, "No, Kaye isn't anywhere close in being my girlfriend. Kento would kill me if I claimed her as my own. Those two are tight. Kaye is more like a very good friend. So you have no reason to be jealous."

Dominic blinked when she looked at him in confusion, "The big guy and her? Really?" Looking down at her desk she felt a blush coming on, "I never said I was jealous. What gave you such an idea?"

Sage stood up and walked over to her desk and sat down in front of it as he reached out with one hand and brought her face towards his. "Just the tone of your voice and how cold you were acting towards her." Lowering his hand from her face he leaned back into his chair full attention on Dominic. "Besides, I have an idea of what you were trying to do Dom. You don't need to protect us. We can protect ourselves. The six of us have been in extreme situations before and we can handle ourselves just fine. But we also know if any of us are in over our heads, we can always count on the others to help out with no questions asked. We're no strangers to danger. It isn't like we go out and look for it."

Dominic smirked as she heard Sage, "I don't believe it."

Sage looked at her in surprise, "What?"

"You tried to make a joke. In a time like this. You certainly have changed since back in the day Sage Date."

A small chuckle escaped from Sage's throat, "I guess I've been hanging around Kento too long. Oh well, but seriously, You may be the head of this crew, but no disrespect Sparks, my friends and I are not part of it. So you have no say over us. We'll work with you until they're put away for good and then we part ways. You have your life and I have mine. We can't go back to the way we were, it won't work."

"I...I wasn't...Never mind! I guess you thinking you're a gift to women hasn't changed at all."

"I never said I was, but I can't help it if women like to throw themselves at me from time to time." Sage's eye went wide when he saw Dominic leap up from her chair and settled her hands upon the armrests of his chair with her face within inches of his. A fire ignited in her eyes when they locked onto one another. His gaze became calm as he kept his eyes locked on hers. "Point proven."

Dominic growled low in her throat as she pushed off from his armrests and turned her back on him as she crossed her arms. "There was no point to prove golden boy! You just got to me is all. You always could get under my skin one way or another. Anyway, this isn't important at the moment. Besides, I have my reasons to take Maverick and the rest of them down. They humiliated my crew, and we're not going to stand for it any longer."

Raising a brow towards her he leaned forward a bit in his chair, "How did they humiliate your crew Sparks?"

Dominic walked over to a window and stared out, "We were set for a street race, earlier in the day we scoped out the route because other racers were running before us. So after we scoped out the route, we sat on the sidelines and watched the races as we waited for our turn. They were getting down to their last two drivers, and then Maverick and Tobias approached. They asked if we intended to race for bank or keys. Then they added one more, the loser would stop street racing for the rest of their lives. To say the least, we were surprised, but we agreed anyway figuring we would be able to take them with no problem."

Sage frowned a bit when he listened to her story, "Wait, you didn't mention Reno. Where was he? Usually Reno and Maverick are inseparable."

Dominic frowned in deep thought as she reflected on what she told him. He was right, she didn't mention Reno at all. Just where was he? "I..I don't know. Now I think back on it, not having Reno there was a bit odd. I wonder if he was still in prison when this race took place?"

"It would make sense to why he wasn't around during the race. I wouldn't doubt Maverick and Tobias did other things with him being in prison. I'm thinking Tobias would consider Reno as a third wheel and get him out of the way."

Turning around and facing Sage with full attention, "But Maverick wouldn't allow anything to happen to his brother if he could help it."

"Which makes me think Tobias somehow framed Reno for whatever he was sent away for to be only the two of them."

"Considering Tobias is capable of pretty much anything. I wouldn't put it past him in the least. But how can we prove your theory Sage?"

"My sister Yayoi was sent undercover to get any kind of evidence on Tobias. She found more than enough to send him away for life. Yayoi hid her evidence at home. Now it all makes sense, Tobias sent one of his drivers to collect any evidence against him. Then I sent a photo of Tobias then and now. She recognized him and sent me a message back he was most definitely the same guy. Yayoi asked us to get her evidence, but we arrived too late and then well, you know the rest."

"Alright, your theory sounds reasonable. It would make complete sense, but more in likely since his driver escaped, he has the evidence and already got rid of it."

Sage gave a small nod as he leaned back into his chair, Sounds about right. This makes me think the evidence she had on Reno being innocent was destroyed along with the rest of it. The only evidence we have are the photos of what Tobias looked like back in the day and what he looks like now, as well as the videos of him sabotaging Maverick's car before our last race."

"Ok, let's says you're right. Who all has this evidence?"

"All six of us do. Kaye had the idea for Rowen to send it to each of our cells in case something happens to one of us so the others can use it for leverage against him, or to take the evidence to the police."

"Smart, ok I'm impressed. So what makes you think Tobias won't try and get this evidence too?"

"It's what we're counting on actually."

Dominic raised a brow towards him, "You want them to come after you and your friends? Now I know you are completely insane Sage."

"True, but I had a hunch you wouldn't turn down a chance to have payback, or am I wrong?"

She smirked at him, "Oh, you're not wrong. I so want payback, and I will get it. Their crew will be sorry for crossing us."

"So then, are you in?"

"I'm so in."

Meanwhile still in Dominic's garage, while Rowen, Cye, and Ryo were talking with the others from the crew, Kento saw Kaye leaning up against the railing of the catwalk.

Kento walked up behind her and brought his arms around and pulled her to him, "Hey angel." He frowned a bit when he felt her tense up the moment he pulled her to him, "Kaye?"

Her body started to relax as she laid up against him, her voice was quiet, "Gomen Kento."

"What's wrong? Why did you tense up when I started to hold you? Was it because of what happened outside of Yayoi's with Reno?"

"I know, it's crazy to have reacted the way I did. Considering how many times we fought. But with Reno, holding his gun on me. It brought back something I thought I forgot about a long time ago. But I guess it's still there. Goes to prove with what Sage is dealing with the past can come back to haunt you."

"Care to talk about it?"

"No, not right now. Maybe someday, Sage needs all of us to help deal with his past."

"Fair enough, but mind if I ask you another question?"

Kaye glanced up towards him with a quizzical expression, "I suppose, what did you want to ask?"

Kento's frown was replaced with a smirk, "Ryo and Rowen told me and Cye about what happened outside. What I want to know is how did Sage figure out the move you were going to do when Reno held you, hostage, at gunpoint?"

Kaye laughed a little as she returned a smile of her own, "I suppose there's no harm in telling you. See, Yayoi teaches a women's self-defense class to the public when she's off the clock. One night, Sage came with me. He said he had to talk to her about something. So I let him tag along. The move Yayoi taught was the same one I used on Reno. It was quite effective."

Kento chuckled, "Sounds like it, I'm just relieved all of you are ok."

"I'm relieved you and Cye are ok too. I'm guessing since the guy got away, it didn't go too well with him inside Yayoi's house."

"It could have gone better, he kicked me in my midsection and he elbowed Cye in the face. He seemed to be a better fighter than we thought. Well, ok maybe not better, but he didn't play fair. Which ticked me off."

"What do you mean? What did he do?"

"After Cye disarmed him, the three of us got into a free for all and well let's just say Yayoi will be majorly ticked off when she goes into her house. It was a total wreck. Furniture was overturned and slashed into, broken glass everywhere. He did a real number on her house. But towards the end when we thought we had him, he pulled out a lighter and threatened to torch the place. So we backed off and then it's when we heard the explosion and raced outside."

"I see, he used the explosion as a diversion and ran out of the house from somewhere else with the evidence Yayoi hid."

"Pretty much, yeah," Kento replied with a nod. "Now all we have to do is figure out how to take them down. If what Sage and Dominic say is true about Reno never flipping on his brother is true, then we need to figure out a different way. I hate to admit it, but I think Dominic is right."

Kaye gave a small sigh as she turned her attention away from him again, "I know, I was thinking it over when you came up behind me. It was a long shot, but at least it was an idea."

"Hey now, just because it might have not worked in this situation, doesn't mean it wouldn't work out in a different one."

"Thanks, Kento, well, I guess there's not much else to do but wait and see what happens next."

"Man, I hate waiting," Kento grumbled a bit under his breath.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't doubt we won't have to wait long before we hear something one way or another."

"Good, I'm so waiting for a rematch, and this time, I'll win too."

"I'm sure you will Kento. I'm sure you will."

On the main floor of Dominic's garage, Cye, Rowen, and Ryo were talking among themselves while the rest of Dominic's crew were working.

Cye glanced up towards the two on the balcony and smiled as he leaned back against the hood of a car. "Looks like those two are having a serious conversation."

Ryo smirked as he gave a nod, "I'm sure, just like Sage and Dominic are having one as well."

Rowen shook his head, "Sage and Dominic they're history. It wasn't a good break up, but it had to be done. It benefited both of them to have ended things the way they did. Sage met up with the rest of us about six months later, and Dominic ended up running the crew."

"Ok, but we still need to figure out what to do." Cye pointed out as he was trying to bring the conversation back on track.

"I've been thinking about it, and I keep coming back to the drone Reno had as he blew up Kaye's and Sage's cars."

Ryo raised a brow at him, "What about the drone?"

"Well, I'm sure by now the police brought their cars and whatever was left of the drone to the police garage to try and gather evidence. So I'm wondering if it was possible if any of the drones were salvaged."

"With how intense the explosion was, it'll be hard to tell for sure if there was any of it left."

"True, but it wouldn't hurt to see for ourselves right?" Rowen asked as he raised a brow towards them. "Besides, I wouldn't doubt Reno has more of those drones in their garage. What would make you think he wouldn't have tried to test out another drone before he set the self-destruction command to this one?"

Cye pushed off from the hood of the car, "Wait, are you thinking the police might have found another possible drone somewhere? One which would match the one he just blew up?"

Rowen gave a nod, "It could be possible. The only thing, we'd have to figure out how to get the information from police headquarters. Since we haven't heard from Detective Shaw in a while, I"m guessing he's still working the case."

"Wait a minute Rowen. Are you thinking of seeing if Sage's father would let us look at the evidence? What makes you believe he would? Sage and his father haven't spoken to one another in years unless if you want to count the fight they had in the hospital?"

"Well, we all want the same thing Ryo. To take down the crew and put them away for good. Those two will have to just talk things out and see we need to work with one another."

"Guys, there's something I need to tell all of you."

The three of them whirled around and saw Sage and Dominic approaching from behind. "What are you talking about Sage?"

"I'll tell you when all of us are together," Sage replied as he looked up towards his other two friends. "Kento! Kaye! Would you two come down?"

Kento and Kaye looked at one another and then looked back down at the others. "Sure, we'll be right down!" He released Kaye and the two of them made their way down to where the others were waiting.

"Ok Sage, what's the deal?" Rowen asked as they were all looking at him.

Sage studied everyone, he took his time before he started to speak. "Look, I was going to let you all in on this after the whole thing was over. But the thing has gotten out of hand and it's time I told you. All of you remember the fight my father and I had at the hospital right?" Sage saw them nodding, "Well, it was staged."

"Wait! What? Come on man, you can't be serious!" Kento said in disbelief.

"It's true, my father and I have been talking for the last couple of years. At first, it was not exactly the best of conversations, but we finally hashed everything out and we decided it was best for everyone if they thought we were still not talking with one another. Yayoi and Shaw were in on it as well." Sage started to explain. "Gomen, for keeping all of you in the dark about this. I know it wasn't right, but it was necessary. We had to make Maverick and Reno believe we were still angry with one another for the plan to work. We were short on time and couldn't let any of the rest of you know until a better time to let you in on the plan."

Ryo frowned at him, "What about the rest of your family? Your mom and younger sister? Having them believe you two were still at war, how could you do something so low?"

"We didn't want to have them involved. They would have been in danger if they knew the whole story. We couldn't risk their safety. So we had to go along with the plan."

Kento shook his head, "Wow man, you two looked so convincing on video."

"Believe me, it was harder than we thought it would be, but it was the only way we knew it would work. We had to make sure they believed it just like everyone else."

Rowen studied Sage, "Then maybe my idea of having you asking your father if we can take a look at the evidence wouldn't be too hard after all."

Sage gave a nod, "I'll give him a call and we can see about setting up a meet with him at the prescient."

Dominic looked over at Kaye and studied her a bit, "Look, I just, what I said to you was uncalled for. I just let my anger get the best of me, I'm just frustrated me and my crew is back in this mess and I took it out on you. It wasn't fair, and, well, I'm sorry."

Kaye gave a nod, "Frustration is easy enough to understand. We all go through it and well, I accept your apology. To be honest, I can be a bit stubborn about things, so I apologize to you too."

Dominic smiled as she gave a nod, "Accepted. So then, since we're in this, let's show Maverick and the rest of them they've messed with the wrong crew!"

Kento pumped a fist into the air, "Yeah! Let's kick some ass!" He glanced around and saw Dominic's crew staring at him, "Heh." Lowering his hand as he brought his hand down and rubbed the back of his head.

Cye laughed, "Don't mind Kento, he just gets over-excited when there's a chance for a fight."

Dominic grinned as she shook it off, "Don't worry about it, my crew usually feels the same way, he just beat them to it is all."

"Ok, now everything is settled, we are still a couple of cars down." Ryo reminded them.

"No worries, take your pick," Dominic replied as she walked over to the lockbox and unlocked it for them to choose a vehicle ranging from a different variety of street racing cars to motorcycles.


	12. Chapter 12

"How are things," Tobias asked as he glanced over at Reno. "Everything still going as planned?"

Reno didn't bother glancing up fro his laptop. "As far as I can see, yeah. Everything is running smoothly." Reno replied keeping his focus on the feed he was receiving from his drones. 'Maybe a little too smooth. I haven't picked up golden boy or any sing of his friends. It even seems like his sister and detective Shaw dropped out of sight.'

Tobias tapped his fingers on the table. Something was bothering him about this whole situation. 'Our crew is tearing up the city, and no one is stepping in to stop them? Why? What are the police waiting for? Where did the Dates disappear?'

Maverick wiped his hands with a rag as he noticed Tobias and his brother starting to get a bit edgy. "Would you two just relax? Knowing Sage as we do, he's taking his time and planning his next move. Nothing we can do about it until he shows his hand."

Tobias raised a brow when he glanced towards him, "You know something. Don't you?"

Maverick shook his head, "Nope, I just understand him better than you Tobias. I was the one who taught golden boy about the world of street racing after all. So, I understand how he thinks."

"Maybe, but you two haven't seen one another for a long time. From what you two told me when you beat them in front of his sister's house, he's not the same person as he was when he ran with you and your brother. Time changes a person, as well as you may know." Tobias leaned back in his chair keeping his sights on Maverick. "Sure, you got the best of him, what? Two, maybe, three times? But what if he wanted you to believe you had the upper hand while he and the advantage this whole time?"

Maverick scowled at him, "What do you mean? There's no way he would be playing me!"

Tobias smirked a bit, "Think about it for a moment. Especially the part where I re watched the video with him and his father arguing in the hospital waiting room."

Reno's interest was piqued. He took his eyes off his screen and looked over towards Tobias, "What are you saying?"

"Not long ago, I got a text informing me they were picked up by Dom's crew. They talked about what happened so far." Tobias started to explain.

"So? Dom and he were tight back then. It would make sense she'd help him out for old time sake." Maverick shot back in slight annoyance.

"You didn't let me finish. As I was going to say, their fight was staged. Sage and his father patched things up between them years ago."

Reno and Maverick frowned at one another and then turned their attention back to him. "Come on! You can't be serious! How can you be so sure the text you got was legit?"

"Think about it for a moment and I'm sure it'll come to you soon enough."

"You have someone working for you on Dom's crew!" Maverick exclaimed with wide eyes as the realization hit him.

"So, you're not just a street racer, you do have a brain after all." Tobias taunted. He could see the brothers were more than a little annoyed with this information. Why didn't he let them in on his entire plan? What else wasn't he telling them?

Reno was about to charge at Tobias, but he felt his brother pull him back. He glared at him, "You're going to let him talk trash to you bro?"

"Take it easy. He can talk all he wants. It won't bother me one way or another. But what I would like to know is how are we going to proceed?"

Tobias studied them for a bit, "Reno, check with your drones and see if there has been any activity at the prescient. If I had to guess, Sage would have gone there by now."

The younger brother growled a bit and then sat back down as he accesses the feed. "Looks like golden boy and a few of his friends are at the prescient. But the rest of them are spread out in different parts of the city with Dom's crew."

Maverick frowned as he leaned back against the wall crossing his arms, "So what are we going to do if the crew members who are rampaging around the city get arrested? What makes you think they won't turn against us? How can you assure their loyalty?"

Tobias didn't seem to be phased by the question, "There are casualties in war. If they get arrested then it's their problem. In regards to their loyalty, they know better than to turn on me. Because they know full well of what I'll do to them if they do turn. Their lives are in my hands. Literally."

Reno raised a brow when he glanced at his brother. He turned his attention towards Tobias, "What do you mean?"

Tobias reached into his pocket and pulled out a small remote control. Bringing it in front of him so the two can see it. "In the beginning I had every single crew member have a small tracking chip implanted in every single one so I could monitor where they were. But also as a bonus, the tracking chip works as a small detonation device. If anyone does anything I don't like, well let's just say they'll lose their heads." His eyes gleamed with madness as he slid the remote back into his pocket.

Maverick's arms dropped to his sides as his eyes went wide in surprise and then narrowed a bit when he pushed himself from the wall. "Are you serious right now? Tracking is one thing, but blowing them up is another. I thought we only agreed to use guns not go to this extreme! Are they even informed about their implants?"

"Of course, at first they didn't believe me, but after a couple of demonstrations they came around and saw it was in their best interest to do what I say."

"Wait a minute. Do my brother and I have one of them implanted in us too?" Reno asked as he felt himself panic a bit on the inside.

Tobias leaned back and kept quiet for a bit before he answered, "Maybe."

"What?! Why you son of a bitch!" Maverick yelled as he was about to go after Tobias.

"I wouldn't if I were you Maverick. You may not think much about your own life, but what about the life of your brother? Do you value his as much as he values yours?"

Maverick backed off, but he still kept glaring at him, "I knew you were sick and twisted Tobias, but this takes it on a whole new level."

Tobias laughed, "Of course I am. What fun would it be if I wasn't? Would you have joined up with me back then if you knew how unstable I was?" He studied the two and shook his head in amusement. "I didn't think so. The two of you were so wrapped up in having your revenge, you never bothered to think things all the way through. So then are you two going to fall in line or do I need to give a demonstration to see if I'm telling the truth or not?"

Reno and Maverick glanced at one another. "No, there's no need for your demonstration."

Tobias grinned as he stood, "Good, now I have some business to take care of. I'm going to join my crew and enjoy tearing up this city. I'll expect to see you two out there soon." Waving at them as he left the room.

Maverick went to the door and watched as Tobias got into his car and drove away. He growled low in his throat and punched at the door frame. "Damn him! You were right! I should have listened to you!"

Reno stood up and walked over towards his brother, "I don't have time to say an I told you so. We need to figure out what we're going to do."

Closing his eyes, he tried to refocus on the task at hand. A few moments passed as he got himself under control, "Wait, Tobias said he had them implanted on everyone right?"

"Yeah? So? Oh, I see, you want me to hack it and try and track down someone? Who did you have in mind?"

Maverick opened his eyes and turned to face his brother, "Detective Yayoi Date. If you can find her, then we can tell her what's going on and she can inform her prescient."

"Wait, you want to track down the same detective who is dead set in putting us back in prison?"

"Yes, if it's the only way to stop Tobias. Then we have no other choice. You want the tracker out of you and not to explode right? Well, we need to find her so we can figure out how to get these things out of us before we lose our heads."

"I guess you have a point. Man, I'm not looking forward to going back to prison."

"Sorry bro, but prison has to be better than six feet under right?"

Reno gave a nod and walked over to his computer. His fingers swept over the keyboard in flurries as he found the frequency and then piggybacked onto the signal and started looking for the detective. He wasn't sure how long this was going to take, but time wasn't on their side Tobias was expecting to see them on the streets soon. "I set up an alert to let me know when it found her, so I'll take my laptop with us on the road."

Maverick gave a nod as he grabbed his keys and then made his way to his car with his brother in tow. Starting up his car he punched it out of the garage at full speed. 'Tobias when everything is said and done. You're mine! You've crossed the line and I'll make sure you never see the light of day ever again you psycho!'

Meanwhile, at the safe house, detective Shaw and Date were starting to get a bit restless. There hasn't been a call for the last few hours. "If we have to sit around here any longer I'm going to go stir crazy."

"Yayoi, would you relax? They'll call us when they have a chance. You know the procedure on high profile cases as much as I do."

"Fine Shaw. I'm just concerned about Sage and the others. Knowing my brother, he's going to do something crazy and I won't be able to be there to bail him out of whatever trouble he gets himself into this time."

Shaw frowned a little, "Hey, come on. Sage has a good head on his shoulders. He's a lot more rational now than when he was during his preteens. He's not a kid anymore, he's an adult. Sage can get himself out of trouble, and he has friends who will help him out as long as he asks for it."

Yayoi smirked a bit, "There's the problem, Sage rarely asks for help. He's too proud."

"Sounds like someone else I know who will go nameless at the moment."

"Hey!" Yayoi shot back at him as she grabbed onto the nearest pillow and launched it at his head.

Shaw chuckled as he ducked from an oncoming pillow. "Just calling it as I see it, partner."

"Hilarious! You're so funny you should have your own stand up comedy routine." Yayoi shot back in a sarcastic tone.

Shaw stood from his chair and walked close to the window as he picked up the pillow. He recognized a car pulling up. Moving closer to the window he stared out of it a bit longer and witnessed two people stepping out of it.

Yayoi frowned when she saw how serious Shaw became, "Shaw?"

Moving away from the window he made his way to the door, "Stay here Yayoi."

"Who did you see? Tell me!"

Shaw looked over at her with the most serious expression on his face. "Maverick and Reno. Somehow they found us."

Yayoi blinked in surprise as she started to try and stand from her chair, "You've got to be kidding me! How did they find us?"

"Sit back down! Don't make me force you to stay put in your chair! I'll cuff you if I have to!" Shaw barked as his eyes narrowed a bit.

Yayoi stopped in mid standing, she has never remembered seeing her partner so serious in all the years they've worked with one another. He was usually the one cracking jokes and trying to make light of any situation, but this time it was entirely different. The tone in his voice, the fire in his eyes, 'Whoa, he means it.' She lowered herself back to the chair. "Alright, relax I'm sitting back down, see. What do you think you're going to do? Take them on yourself?"

Shaw peaked out the door window as he continued to watch the brothers. "They seem to be in a bit of a hurry to find us. From what I can tell, it's just the two of them. It looks like Reno is reading off of some type of device."

Yayoi raised a brow, "What type of device?"

Shaw shook his head, "Not sure, hard to tell from here. But they're coming up this way. Stay here, no matter what you hear outside, you promise me you'll stay right where you are. Promise."

Yayoi studied him as their eyes locked for a moment. She could see he was all business there was no way he was going to be talked out of what he had in mind. "I promise, I won't move from this chair. You be careful, promise."

Shaw gave a small smirk as he nodded, "Promise." He reached out and grabbed onto the door handle and went outside as he slammed the door behind him. Walking ahead a few feet he looked down at them. "Hey! What do you two want?"

Maverick and Reno looked up and saw Shaw looking down at them. "We need to talk detective. With both of you. It's important."

Shaw leaned against the railing, "Oh? What did you two need to talk about, your unconditional surrender?"

The brothers glanced at one another and then back at him, "Ha ha ha, real funny. This is serious! Reno was able to track you and your partner here detective. What makes you think Tobias wouldn't be able to do the same?"

"Track us? How?"

"Let us come up there and we'll tell you everything. We're being on the level!" Maverick shouted back to him.

Shaw didn't move from his spot as he kept his eyes on them. 'Talk? Seriously! They're crazier than I thought. But if they were going to ambush us, then they would have brought more drivers from their crew and I don't see anyone else.'

"Come on detective! We don't have much time! Plus we know about the staging between golden boy and his father at the hospital. We know everything and so does Tobias! He's the one you should be concerned about more than the two of us!"

'They know? How?' Shaw was taken back by surprise, to say the least. "Fine, but hurry it up! Keep in mind, if either of you tries anything..."

"Don't worry, we know. Like we said before, we just want to talk, nothing more, come on Shaw!"

The detective motioned for the two to come upstairs as he backed away from the railing and went inside. He walked next to Yayoi as the two of them entered the safe house.

"Detective Date," Maverick acknowledged as he and his brother stood in front of them. "I have to admit, I'm impressed on how you snuck out of the hospital without Tobias knowing."

"I don't care if you are impressed. You're lucky I don't kick your ass for blowing up my brother's and his friend's car! So get to the point of what you're going to tell us and then get the hell out!"

"Ok, fair enough. Straight to the point. As you can see with us standing here, I was able to track you to this safe house. Tobias somehow implanted a tracking device into each person on the crew, you, me, my brother, everyone." Reno started to explain, "I'm just not sure how he was able to do this without anyone knowing."

"Ok, let's say for the sake of argument, we believe you. But there's something else you're not telling us about these trackers." Yayoi shot back as she studied Reno.

Reno gave a nod, "If anyone betrays Tobias, he, well, he could blow them up whenever he wanted. Tobias has a detonator about the size of a cell he carries with him."

Detective Shaw and Date glanced at one another and then back at the brothers. "Then why hasn't he blown us up yet?"

"Not sure. I think he has other plans for us. It's the only reason I can think of for him not to flip the switch so to speak." Maverick replied as he shook his head.

"Outside, you said you two knew about the staged fight between Sage and his father at the hospital. How did you figure it out?" Shaw inquired as he crossed his arms.

"Tobias was the one who told us. He has someone working inside Dom's crew texting him with whatever information they come across. Your brother and a few of his friends are at the prescient, while the others are with Dom's crew out somewhere in the city. Tobias went into the city, more are likely to hunt them down." Reno explained.

"Then why are you two coming to us with this information instead of going to the prescient?"

"Because we thought it would be faster this way. We don't have time to go through a bunch of red tapes, besides, we'd be arrested on sight and wouldn't have had a chance to explain what's going on until it was too late." Maverick shot back.

"So what? You two are coming to us to see if you could make some kind of deal or something? Or was it because you two have a conscious and decided it was the right thing to do?"

"Look, Shaw, we came to the two of you because we need your help! Yeah, ok Tobias is a psychopath and we were too late to realize it until now. So will you help us or not?"

"Just a minute, Yayoi and I need to talk among ourselves," Shaw said as he turned his back on them and faced her. "So..."

"I don't know. I don't trust them. They're only looking out for themselves. Once Tobias is caught, what keeps them from taking off?" Yayoi asked as she glanced at the brothers in suspicion.

"I don't trust them either, but what other choice do we have? Tobias is a bigger threat. You let alone anyone else knows just how big of a threat he is right?"

"Yes, but..." Yayoi replied closing her eyes, she thought about the argument long and hard. Once she came to her decision she gave out a small sigh of annoyance and opened her eyes. "Fine. But if they bolt it's on both of us."

"I know, but what other choice do we have Yayoi?" Shaw asked as he turned around and faced them. "Fine, we'll team up with the two of you. But if you both bolt when this is over, we'll be on the two of you so fast..."

Maverick smirked as he raised his hands, "Don't worry detective, you have our word."

Reno glanced up from his device, "Ok, I finished putting a block on all three of our tracking devices. It's the best I can do until we figure out how to get them out later."

Maverick looked over at his brother and smiled, "Nice job."

"It was easy enough, Tobias may be a clever psycho, but I'm a genius. A genius always trumps a psycho. Especially when it comes to electronics." Reno replied with a smirk. "I can still keep track of my drones, but I need to get to my laptop in the car to start a city search for anyone else in the crew."

Shaw turned around and was helping Yayoi out of her chair, "You know, I'm surprised the hospital didn't find the transmitter when you were there Yayoi."

"Same here," Yayoi replied as she was on her feet. "But I guess they didn't know they were supposed to look for one. It doesn't matter now. We need to get a move on if we're going to take down Tobias and the rest of the crew."

"Yayoi and I will follow the two of you since you have the tracking device and laptop in your car." Shaw said as the four of them were leaving the safe house."

Maverick and Reno got into their car and started it. He rolled down his window and smirked at him, "Hey Shaw! Just make sure you can keep up!"

"Ha! Don't you worry about me, we'll be right behind you!" Shaw replied as he and Yayoi got into his car and started to follow the brothers further into the city.


	13. Chapter 13

"Sage, are you sure about this?" Ryo asked as he and Rowen walked into the main entrance of the prescient along with Dom walking behind them.

"No, but it's the only choice we have. Talking with my father, letting him know everything is out in the open and our plan is out of the window. We'll have to figure out another way to bring them down." Sage replied as they walked right pat the reception desk and towards his father's office.

As soon as the small group entered everyone stopped what they were doing and glared at them as they were making their way through the room. "You have some nerve coming here!" A chorus of agreement chimed in behind the statement.

Sage ignored the multitude of narrowed eyes glaring at him and his friends as they continued onto their destination.

A detective came right up to Sage and stopped him right in his tracks, "Look, you and your friends can just turn around and leave unless of course, you want to be arrested."

Sage stopped and stared down the detective right into his gaze. He gave no reaction to his verbal threat. "You have no grounds to arrest me nor my friends. Plus, I have the right to see my father if I want to. Now, I suggest you move out of our way."

Anger crashed through the detective, "Why you little!"

Ryo and Rowen stepped up on either side of Sage taking in the scene and noticing the other cops and detectives were starting to close the gap a little at a time. "This doesn't look good Ryo."

Ryo did a glance at Rowen as he gave a nod, "I know, just stand your ground. We're here to help out Sage not to get into a fight with the prescient. It makes me relieved Kento was talked into taking to the streets instead of coming here with us."

"No kidding, he'd cut loose in here in a moment's notice." Rowen agreed as he picked up on more of the tension in the room.

The commissioner-general heard the yelling of the detective from his office. He glanced up from his desk and saw his son standing off with the yelling detective. Standing from his desk he left his office and started walking towards them. "What's going on here detective? Why are you causing a scene in the middle of the floor?" The other officers and detectives started to back away when they saw the commissioner-general approaching the small group.

"Sir! Gomen sir. I didn't..."

"I heard what you said, threatening my son and his friends with being arrested just because they walked into the prescient. You're lucky I don't demand your badge for being so rash. Now get back to work!"

"Sir! Yes, sir!" The detective said quickly as he backed off and went back to his desk.

Sage and his father stared one another down, it seemed like time stood still until finally one of them spoke, "Father."

"Sage, you and your friends can follow me to my office. We can talk there where no one can interrupt us." The commissioner-general replied with a small nod as he turned around and headed back to his office.

Sage glanced at Ryo, Rowen, and Dom, "Come on, the longer we stand here, the less time we'll have to figure out what to do next." Walking towards his father's office with the others following quickly behind him.

"Talk about a close call," Rowen whispered to Ryo as he glanced over towards the detective who challenged Sage a moment ago. "What's his problem anyway?"

Ryo shook his head, "No idea and I'm not going to ask him, are you?"

Rowen studied the detective and then shook his head as the three of them followed Sage into the office.

"Close the shades, and make sure the door is shut tight. I don't want anyone around when we're talking." The commissioner-general stated as he sat down in his chair.

Once Dom was inside, she closed the door and shut the shades, "So what's going on between the two of you? Are you still fighting with one another or not? Because it's getting confusing."

The commissioner-general gave a small smirk as he motioned for them to sit. "I see Sage has informed all of you our fight at the hospital was staged." He saw each of them nodding, "Sage and I knew Maverick and Reno were out a long time ago. We had to keep up the appearance the two of us were still fighting with one another all these years. More in likely he told the rest of you only a few of us know the truth."

"Yes sir, but why keep it from us all this time?" Ryo asked with a slight frown.

"It was a matter of need to know basis. This is a personal matter, none of you were supposed to be involved. But since you are, now there's no going back. The only thing we can do is figure out where to go from here."

Rowen leaned forward a bit in his chair, "No disrespect sir, but Sage is our friend, we're family. We're not going to let Sage deal with this on his own. Just like he would help any of us if we were struggling with something."

Bringing his hands together in a steeple he studied them intensely from his desk. From what Sage told him these people he's been living with for the last few years are like another family. He understood now what he told him about them. "No disrespect taken Rowen. But know in the end this whole thing is a police matter. The main reason why Sage was brought in on this investigation was because of his history with them. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been involved, none of you would."

"Right now, Cye, Kento, and Kaye are out in the city with a few others from my crew searching for them. While we're here playing twenty questions. We should be out there helping instead of sitting here on our butts!" Dom grumbled as she crossed her arms while sitting back in her chair.

"Young lady, I've had undercover officers watching your crew for a long time now. During their watch, they could have brought you and your crew in at any time. Especially with all of the street racing all of you have been doing."

Sage turned his attention towards her with a raised brow, "Dom? I thought you quit racing. Or were you just telling me what I wanted to hear?"

"Sage my shop was going under. Just working on cars alone wasn't cutting it, we had to start racing again so we could get enough money to stay in business. I'm not going to apologize for what we had to do to survive."

Rowen looked between Dom and Sage, "Hey, come on. Now isn't the time for you two to be fighting with one another. We have bigger things to be concerned about right."

Sage closed his eyes and sighed a bit. "You're right Rowen." Opening his eyes he looked over towards his father. "More in likely, Maverick and Reno as well as Tobias have figured out our little ruse. Father, even though it's technically it's a police matter. I'd rather have my friends and I take them down our way and not have any police involved."

Narrowing his eyes, he locked onto his son's gaze. "Sage, I don't know if I can follow through with your request. This is a police matter."

"Father, please. Let us handle this, and I promise you they will be taken down, but in our way. It's a matter of honor now." Sage pleaded as he kept his gaze. "You know I wouldn't ask you unless it was important. But this is important to me. Father, you taught us to take care of our problems. So I'm asking you to allow me to take care of this our way."

"How about this? We'll keep in touch with you on our cell phones. Then when it's done, we'll call you and hold them until you and the detectives you have assigned to the case take them away." Ryo suggested glancing between father and son.

The commissioner-general was first to break the staring contest. "Fine, I can agree to the terms. Keep me informed and I'll send them in once the job is done."

Sage gave a small smile as he felt his body relax. "Thank you, father."

"Just make sure none of you try anything crazy. I'll fill them in after you leave, then they'll be more agreeable to help with this new plan."

"Has anyone heard from Yayoi or Shaw?"

"No, we haven't heard from them in a few hours. But they were at a safe house the last time Shaw checked in with us. You know your sister won't be happy when she sees her home tossed."

Sage winced at the possible confrontation with her, "I won't be looking forwards to having her blow up at me about it."

"No. To be truthful, I won't be looking forward to it either. But she'll understand you and your friends were trying to help with the investigation. So she won't be as..." Leaning back in his chair he pulled his hands apart and rested them upon the armrests. "Upset. What about your other friends? The ones racing around somewhere in the city?"

Ryo glanced around at the others and then turned his attention back towards him, "They caught up with the crew and are keeping them busy until we catch up. We need to get out there."

Rowen, Ryo, Dom, and Sage started to walk to the door of his office. Sage glanced back and saw his father was already on the phone talking with dispatch informing them what's going on. He waited just a moment longer and then followed the other three out to the main door.

Once outside they walked over to two cars, "Rowen, get a hold of Cye. Let him know what's going on. Also, tell him we're on our way." Ryo instructed as he got into the passenger side.

Rowen gave a nod as he reached for his cell and called Cye catching him up on things. Then he pocketed his phone and got the keys as he got into his car and drove away.

Sage got into the driver's seat and started up his car. He glanced over towards Dom when he heard her getting into the passenger side.

"How much time do you think we have before your father tells them to move in on the crew?"

"Not much, knowing my father. So the sooner we get this done, the better."

"Sage, there's something I need to talk with you about. It's important."

"Gomen Dom, but right now we need to concentrate on taking them down before my father sends out reinforcements. Whatever you want to talk about can it wait until this whole thing is over?" Sage asked as he kept his eyes on the road while following Ryo and Rowen.

Dom turned her attention out towards the passenger window, "Yeah, fine later."

Meanwhile in a different part of the city...

"Cye, what did Rowen have to say?"

"He said Sage's father will hold back the cops until they hear from us so we can take the crew down our way."

Kaye gave a nod as she watched Kento racing ahead of them on the motorcycle he chose to ride. "Hard to believe Sage kept the truce between him and his father to themselves. I can only imagine how hard it was for them to keep it from everyone for so long."

"Same, but I guess they had their reasons. Right now it isn't the issue. We need to figure out how to stop the crew from trashing and looting the entire city."

"I agree," Kaye replied as she shook her head in amusement, "Looks like Kento's having the time of his life out there on his bike. He's tearing it up."

Cye chuckled as he was doing his best keeping up with the orange Ronin. "Do you wish you were riding with him?"

Kaye raised a brow when she turned her attention towards him, "Not the way he's riding. I'd fall off and end up being street pizza!"

Smirking Cye shook his head, "You wouldn't have to worry about it, he wouldn't be riding like he is with you on the back."

"He better not," Kaye said under her breath as she settled into her seat.

"See if you can raise him and let Kento know everything is going as planned."

"Right," Kaye dialed in Kento, "Hey hotshot, Sage's plan is a go!"

"Sounds good, I just spotted the car Tobias drives. It's the same one Dom described. It's about a block ahead. Not sure how he got ahead of us so quickly, but I'm going to ride ahead and see if I can slow him down."

"Be careful! I don't want to scrape you off of the street!"

Kento chuckled, "No worries, I'm not going to let some two-bit scum bag take me out! I'll make sure to leave some of the crew to you and Cye until Sage and the others catch up to us! I'm signing off!" Revving the engine to his bike he reared and then shot off towards Tobias. Kento continued to weave in and out on different vehicles in passing as he was working his way to catch up to his target.

Tobias glanced in his review mirror and noticed someone was catching up to him on a bike. He growled low in his throat as his hands tightened even more on the steering wheel. 'Damn! Must be one of golden boy's friends. Does the pest think he can stop me? Ha! Laughable! He's going to find out the hard way, I'm not so easy to take down. Get ready little man.' Tobias thought to himself as he allowed Kento to catch up by him as they were now side by side. The two of them glanced at one another and then back to the road. Within a blink of an eye, Tobias jerked his wheel towards Kento's bike.

Kento saw Tobias's car coming for him and banked off to the left as he then sped up so he would be at least half a car ahead of him. Glancing back he saw Tobias was still on his tail. He smirked a bit and gunned it a bit more.

Tobias shifted into another gear and jammed his foot on the accelerator as he chased after Kento. Back and forth the two of them went, weaving in and out of traffic. A battle on wheels so to speak, attack, defend, attack, parry, defend.

Not too far behind, Cye was doing his best to keep up with them. "Tobias is crazy! Trying to mow down Kento, but at least so far Kento's able to evade the best he can."

"Cye, isn't there some way to help Kento?"

"We're limited on what we can do, but maybe..." Cye mused as he shifted into a higher gear. "Kaye, you might want to brace yourself."

Kaye glanced over at him as she braced her arms the best she could in the passenger seat. "Cye, what are you thinking? Are you going to do what I think you're thinking?"

Cye glanced over at her, "I think so. Hang on!" He stomped down upon the accelerator and was gaining ground on Tobias. 'This is going to hurt.' Cye thought to himself as he rammed right into Tobias's bumper.

The impact with the two cars made Cye and Kaye wince. Cye started to lose some control when his hands were jarred from the steering wheel for a split second. In a blink of an eye, Cye regained his grip on the wheel when he felt the car starting to swerve a bit. It took a few seconds but Cye finally got back into full control of the car.

Tobias lurched forward when he felt the jarring impact of the car behind him. He growled low in his throat as he glanced in his review mirror. 'More of their friends. I'm going to need reinforcements.' He reached to the dashboard and pressed the speed dial as he sent a message to a few closes by crew members to come and back him up. He sent them his location and then got both hands back onto the wheel as he gunned ahead.

Kento glanced back towards Cye and Kaye, he saw Kaye wave letting him know they were fine and to keep going. He gave a wave back and gunned it ahead to catch up to Tobias.

Kaye pulled out her cell and dialed. As she heard him pick up she put Rowen on speaker, "Rowen, where are you guys? Tobias is trying to mow Kento down. Kento is doing the best he can to stay with him. Cye just rammed into Tobias from behind. We need reinforcements."

"We'll catch up to you soon! Be careful!" Rowen replied as he glanced over at Ryo.

"Kaye, don't be surprised if Tobias calls for back up! Keep your eyes open! Cye, don't do anything reckless!" Ryo called out as he took the next corner. "We'll catch up to the three of you in five minutes!"

"Me? Ryo, when have you ever known me to do anything reckless? Kento on the other hand..." Cye asked shouting back over the phone.

"Just stay with Tobias! Try not to engage unless you have to. I'll call Sage and Dom letting them know what's going on. See you soon!" Ryo replied as he had Rowen hang up the call.

Rowen dialed Sage's number and waited for him or Dom to answer. While waiting he glanced at Ryo, "How long do you think they'll be able to keep up with Tobias?"

Ryo shook his head as he kept his eyes on the road, "No idea, hopefully at least long enough for the rest of us to arrive. Something else is bothering me."

Rowen raised a brow at him, "Oh?"

"If it's only Tobias they're chasing, then where are Maverick and Reno? Also, where are the rest of their crew?"

"My guess, they could be closer to their location than us. Which is why we need to get a move on if we're going to be any help what so ever." Rowen replied as he frowned glancing at his cell. "Come on Sage! Answer!"

Sage's phone kept ringing until finally, Dom picked it up, "Sage's phone, Dom speaking!"

"Dom! It's Rowen! Listen..." He started to fill Sage and Dom in on what Kaye told him and Ryo. Dom frowned a bit when she and Sage glanced at one another. "Any idea where Tobias might be going?"

"No, I don't, but it doesn't matter where it only matters what he's doing now. If I know his crew, then more in likely they'll show up before we do. How long did you tell Kaye we'd be to catch up to them?"

"Five minutes."

Dom frowned deeply, "Well then, you'd better shift it into a higher gear and get a move on because If the rest of the crew shows up before us, then your friends are in major trouble." Hanging up the cell she looked at Sage. "Are you ready for this?"

Sage glanced at her, "As ready as I can be I guess."

"Sage, there is no guessing, either you are or you're not. Your friends are in over their heads, and you know it. We need to end this now! Otherwise, it won't be the hospital your friends will show up, it'll be the morgue. You know I'm right." Dom stated as she readjusted in the passenger seat. "Look, I'm not trying to scare you, but you know I'm right. You know how Tobias and his crew work as much as I do. So what's your answer?"

"I'm not going to let Tobias or anyone from his crew do anything to my friends! He's crossed the line one too many times. It's time for him to pay for what he has done, and I'm going to be the one to do it." Sage replied as she shifted gears and raced on.


	14. Chapter 14

"What the..." Reno said as a deep frown creased his forehead. His fingers flew across his keyboard but then he grabbed it before it could slide down to his feet. "Hey! Watch it! I almost lost my computer!"

Maverick glanced over towards him, 'Gomen, but we don't have the time to be careful. Tell me what you saw."

Reno readjusted his laptop, "From what my drones picked up, Tobias is racing on the street-facing off against a few of golden boy's friends. One on a bike the other two are in a car behind him. They seem to be staying on him well enough. Sage and the others are catching up to them. It also seems from the drones at the prescient are showing the cops are staying put. If I would have to guess, then I'd say we'll need to pull over and talk to the other two behind us."

Maverick motioned for Shaw to pull over as he parked to the side of the road. He got out and leaned up against the driver's side door watching for Shaw to park behind him.

Yayoi and Shaw glanced at one another, "What does he think he's doing? Why did he pull over?"

"No idea, but I guess we'd better see what's going on," Shaw replied as he pulled in behind Maverick's car. Shaw stepped out and walked over towards him. "What's the big idea?"

"Reno found Tobias, but something else was off at the prescient. It seems the cops are holding up there. They're not out chasing Tobias or the rest of the crew. So we're wanting to know. What could they possibly be waiting for?" Maverick asked when he studied Shaw with suspicion.

"Not entirely sure, but if I had to venture a guess. I'd say things came to light so to speak."

"Meaning?"

"If I had to guess, then I think Sage and his father came clean on their game, and the commissioner-general ordered the others to stand down," Shaw explained as he thought it over.

"So then we can take down Tobias any way we see fit and not get busted for it?"

Shaw raised a brow towards him, "Just because we're on a temporary truce doesn't mean you and your brother can just do whatever you want however you want. The main goal is to take them down while no one else gets hurt."

Maverick smirked, "Take it easy Shaw. The crew will fold once the snake's head is cut off."

"Fine, how far are we from the others who are chasing Tobias?"

Maverick turned his back on Shaw and leaned through his car's window, "Hey little brother, how far are we?"

Reno glanced up from his laptop and turned his attention towards them, "We'll be able to intersect them in about ten minutes with the short cut you took."

Maverick pulled out of the window and relayed the message to Shaw.

"Wait, you mean this whole time we've been ahead of the others and you didn't bother to tell us? How'd we get ahead of them?"

Maverick threw his head back and laughed, "Come on detective. If you've been racing these roads as long as we have, then you'll know every twist and turn as well as every back road this city has."

Shaw crossed his arms and looked at him in annoyance, "Fine, you can boast later, so how do you want to stop Tobias since he's coming our way. Providing he is coming here."

"Use your imagination and look around what do you see?" Maverick asked as he motioned across the street. A few car carriers filled with different sizes and types of cars mounted upon the trailers were parked across the street from them. Three drivers came out of the trucks and walked towards them. "Hey Maverick! Long time! Reno! Still have your head stuck in your computer huh?"

Reno didn't even bother to look up from his laptop as he continued to monitor his drones.

"Thanks for coming. Is everything set?" Maverick asked as he gave the three a nod.

"Sure man, here are the keys to all of the cars. I thought I never see the day you and your brother working with the cops."

Maverick took the box with the keys and gave a nod, "Neither did we, but here we are. But don't worry, it's a one-time thing. Don't think we'll be going down the straight and narrow any time soon."

A chuckle was emitted from the guy's throat, "Good to hear, anyway, need help unloading?"

Shaw raised a brow at them, "Wait, unload these cars? What do you plan on doing, making a barricade?"

"You're a quick one Shaw, I'm impressed," Reno said with a sarcastic tone as he put up his laptop on the dash and got out of the car. "If we're going to get this barricade set, then we better get a move on because Tobias will be here in less than ten minutes. So are you going to help us or what detective?"

"Fine, but what makes you think Tobias will come this way?" Shaw asked as he was still a bit skeptical about their plan.

"Hello, drones, or have your forgotten?" Reno asked back in extreme sarcasm.

"Watch it punk or I'll take you into custody before this whole thing is over!"

"Oh? Just you try!" Reno challenged back narrowing his eyes at him.

Maverick got between the two, "Hey enough! The more you two stand around and bicker, the less time we have to get our blockade set up and Tobias will race right past us."

"Fine, you guys start unloading the cars for the blockade, I'll fill in my partner on the plan and then I'll come over and help," Shaw replied as he turned his back on them and headed to his car.

"Make it quick!" Maverick called out to him and then turned to the others, "Come on, let's get these cars set up and then you guys can get scarce."

Shaw made it to his car and leaned in through the window, "Yayoi..."

"Shaw, what's going on?"

"It's like this..." Shaw informed her of the conversation and plan they had in mind. "To say the least, I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea but if it'll work then I guess it's the only one we have at the moment."

Yayoi frowned as she thought over what Shaw told her and gave a nod. "True, Tobias won't see it coming. Alright, I guess you'd better hurry over there and help them unload the rest of the cars."

"Right, I'll see you soon," Shaw replied as he pulled out of his car and made his way to Maverick and the others. When he arrived he saw they already had half of them unloaded. "You sure work quick."

"Yeah well, we kind of have to consider we're planning as we're going along," Maverick replied as he threw Shaw a few keys. "Are you going to help out or just stand there and direct traffic?"

Shaw raised a brow at him and then shook his head as he headed to a nearby trailer with a few cars on them. "I'm guessing you're not going to tell me where these cars came from are you?"

"Nope, not on your life cop."

"Mind if I ask why you're helping us?" Shaw asked as he climbed into a car and started the engine.

"Our reasons are our own. We don't need to tell you why we're helping. Just be glad you're getting help at the last moment."

Shaw gave a nod and backed out of the trailer and got it in line with the other cars. Once he parked it, he ran over and pulled out the remaining cars. Once they were finished setting up their barricade he went over to his car and got inside. "Everything is set."

"Think this will work?" Yayoi asked as Shaw pulled out from their parking spot and moved in closer to the blockade.

"It's the only option we have at the moment. So it'll have to be. There are less than five minutes now before Tobias and the others arrive." Shaw replied as he parked in his new spot.

"Did they say where the cars came from, or don't we want to know?"

"They didn't say, so more in likely, they're probably hot. But I'm not going to worry about it now." Shaw replied as he looked over at Maverick and Reno as they were also parked in a new location. The ones who drove the trucks with the cars were sitting ready in the trucks themselves.

"Reno, see them on your laptop?"

"They're just over the next hill bro," Reno replied as he shut his laptop and laid it on the floor. "Maverick, I just..."

Maverick looked over at him with a small smirk, "Hey, save what you're going to say for later. Right now, we need to get rid of Tobias and then once we're done, you know what we have to do."

"Yeah, I know. Man, it was a sweet run while it lasted. I'm going to miss it here." Reno replied with a smirk of his own. "Hey, it looks like Tobias and the others are approaching."

The dust cloud puffed up behind the racing cars and bike which could be seen from where they sat in waiting. Anticipation and adrenaline raced in their veins as they could see the silhouettes of the vehicles as they fought for the lead through the dust cloud. The vehicles burst through one by one, a couple of them were side by side racing one another back and forth fighting for the lead of one over the other. One by one, the vehicles banked themselves either hard left or a hard right depending on which way their reactions took the drivers. They slid to a stop with the tracks etched into the roads and the fresh smell of burnt rubber in the air.

Once the dust settled this is how they faced off, Sage and Dom were parked in the center of the road with Rowen and Ryo on their left. Cye and Kaye were on their right with Kento sitting on his bike on Cye's driver's side. Yayoi and Shaw were sitting in their car over by one of the trucks which hauled in the extra cars for the barricade. Dom's crew were facing the crew members from Tobias's, neither side making any move one way or another just staring at one another seeing who would flinch

Tobias stayed in his car, his eyes surveying along the barricade of empty vehicles until he found the ones he sought. 'Merrick, Reno. Bravo as much as I'm impressed, their time on this earth is over.' He reached into his pocket and pulled out the device. Grinning he pushed the button expecting a mess of explosions splattering brains and such inside of the cars. But to his dissatisfaction, there was no explosion. He tried again and had the same results. Then he realized what happened, Reno found a way to block the signal from his remote to their tiny detonators. Throwing the remote to the floor of his car he opened his door he stepped out halfway. "Merrick! Reno! You dare to cross me!"

Merrick opened his door and stepped out halfway, "You crossed us first Tobias! You implanted tracking devices within us who have explosives programmed along with them! Only a true monster would do something to their crew, or even worse, a human being! You were the one who tampered with the crew! Once they had honor and raced for other cars and money! But over the years to now, you corrupted them! We were just too blind to see! Sage was right! The crew has no honor any more! It's time for you to go down Tobias!"

Tobias threw back his head and laughed, his eyes gleamed in amusement, "I knew you and your brother weren't happy when you found out how I demanded absolute loyalty towards me! But I didn't care! You and your brother were only tools to me, just like the rest of them! No one dared to question me. Until of course detective Date was the first. She got the evidence she needed against me. But as you have seen, I have destroyed the evidence so it's her word against mine. You two were the next ones to have dared to go against me! So here we are at a standoff, I should have known something like this would have happened! You were too soft Maverick! I should have realized it when I framed your brother and sent him to prison all those years ago!"

"You! You bastard! How dare you frame my brother! We can't get those years back because of you!" Maverick yelled back at him. His hands gripped his car door to try and keep himself in check. But with the way Tobias was baiting him, it was starting to be harder the more he spoke. "Why did you frame my brother back then? Explain to me your reason!"

"Because then I'd be able to be a stronger influence on you! He was a distraction for you! Maverick, your mind was more towards making your little brother would stay on the straight and narrow instead of focusing on the crew! So if I tried to get rid of him by taking his life like I originally planned, then I knew you would try and exact your revenge on me by trying to take my life. So I choose an easier method. I had to be a little more creative, but it was worth it in the end."

Reno put his laptop back upon his legs and opened it. Keys were being tapped upon at a furious pace. He now knew how to disable the signal for explosive implant since it was blocked from him, Maverick and Yayoi. He had to work fast to block the rest of them while Maverick was trying to keep Tobias occupied. "Keep the blowhard talking, I need a little more time to block the other implants."

Maverick heard his brother, but he gave no indication he had. He didn't want Tobias to know he was trying to buy time for his brother to finish his job. 'Stalling is not my game. But I better, otherwise things are going to get ugly real quick.'

The remaining crew members who were under Tobias looked at one another and started to whisper among themselves. Since all of them knew about the explosive implant inside of them, they couldn't take the chance to go against their leader. So they stayed parked where they were.

Dom's crew blocked the way they came, enclosing the other escape route. They talked among themselves but kept their eyes upon the other crew and Tobias as well as Maverick. They stayed steady but alert for any sign of vehicle movement. Dom sent a text message to her crew telling them to stand their ground but be wary. She glanced over at Sage, "Seems like you and your friends were right telling us Tobias was insane. Gomen for not listening sooner."

Sage glanced at her, "What's done is done. What puzzled me at first was when we came again to seek your help and how you reacted about Reno being turned. You were highly defensive about the idea. There was only one other time I've seen you in such away. It was when you were trying to defend me back then. It was when we loved one another and you were trying to protect our relationship. Then it hit me, you were so defensive about Reno is because you love him. You still love him."

Dom blanched a little as she looked down at her hands, "So you figured it out. I knew you would sooner or later. Yes, I do love Reno. I have for a long time. Sage, Reno, he's...He's my husband. We married a couple of years after you left us. Reno and I only had one another. You could call it a rebound relationship if you want, it was the main way we could recoup from when you left the crew. You were important to all of us and you left with no explanation. No word of where you were going or if you were going to come back." Dom clenched her fists and waited a bit before she continued, "There's something else I need to confess to you. The reason why Tobias and the others knew about your game with your father was because I texted him the information after we had our planning session."

Sage looked at her with a deep frown, "Why? Why did you sell me out, Dom?"

"Because I had no other choice. I knew Reno and his brother, as well as the others in their crew, had explosive implants inside of them. Tobias told me if I didn't do what he said he would kill Reno right in front of me. I couldn't take the chance of him bluffing. Deep down, I knew he was telling the truth because one night Reno and I snuck out and met with one another. He showed me the incision to where it was. I begged him to leave town with me, but he said he couldn't leave his brother behind. Tobias appeared out of nowhere, we figured he followed Reno and had another one of his crew members walking with him. He was beaten and broken because this crew member crossed Tobias and as a lesson as well as a warning he reached for the remote and well killed the crew member right in front of us. The explosion splattered the poor guy on the ground. Tobias shoved the remote back into his pocket and warned us this would happen to them if we didn't go with what he said." Dom felt herself shaking, she cursed at herself for feeling weak in front of Sage. What else could she have done? She didn't want to lose her husband to the hands of a maniac.

Sage's thoughts raced in his head with what Dom told him. He now understood her reasons for acting the way she has been. It explained everything. She didn't make it right, but there was no other choice. Would he have made the same choice if he was in her shoes? He wasn't sure, but he did know to take a life for no other reason than to prove a point was wrong. Tobias had to pay for the misery he put everyone through. "Dom, I understand you had no other recourse for what you did, but you still should have come to me and told me the truth. We would have figured out another way to have stopped him." Sage reached for his cell and sent a text to his friends telling them to stay where they were at the moment but to be ready and then he put his cell away. Sage decided today would be the last day Tobias would be able to keep his control over the crew and his friends. It was time for Tobias to pay for what he has done. But how were they going to take him in if he had control over the other crew? "Dom, I have a question, do you think Reno could somehow block the signal to the others to keep them from exploding?"

Dom looked up towards Sage, "Yes, Reno would have the ability to block the signal from Tobias's device. As long as he has time to pull it off."

"Good, because if I'm right, then I'm guessing this is what Maverick is trying to do as he's yelling back and forth with Tobias. He's trying to buy Reno enough time to pull it off." Sage reasoned as he turned his attention to the two men who are still yelling at one another.


	15. Chapter 15

'Come on, get it together Reno, you can do this. It's nothing to sweat about you could do this in your sleep. All you're doing is first blocking and then disabling the devices from the others. I didn't realize they'd all be here though. At least it'll make it a little easier. Because I'm not sure about the range of the signal. Alright, just a few more keystrokes.' Reno thought to himself as he scowled at the screen as he continued his work. He continued to work his code and then he was finished, everyone was free of Tobias. He sighed internally in relief.

Maverick kept his eyes on Tobias as he walked to the front of his car. "Tobias! It's time to settle things! You and me, no one else, one on one!"

Tobias smirked as he walked to the front of his car thinking over what was proposed to him. "I already run the crew Maverick, I have the numbers, money, and ultimate power, so what could you possibly offer me?"

'I'm sorry little brother, someday I hope you forgive me.' Maverick thought to himself as he continued to watch Tobias. "My life."

When Reno heard this his head snapped up from his computer, "What the hell?! Maverick! What are you thinking of sacrificing yourself for? Don't do this!"

Maverick ignored him as continued studying him, "Well? What's your answer?"

A malicious grin crept along his face, "An enticing offer Maverick. But I believe you have more to your offer. So you're seeing if I'm going to take the bait first before you tell me. Am I correct?"

"You know me well enough. So, again, what is your answer?"

"Alright, I accept. A one on one fight with you. Tell me what is extra to your challenge?"

Maverick gave a nod as he raised his fists slightly setting himself up for the fight, "No matter who wins everyone here you leave alone. The rest of the crew, my brother, golden boy, and his friends, as well as Dom and her crew. Everyone."

Tobias raised a brow as he continued to stand his ground, "You're asking a bit much."

"No, I think it's a fair enough request. You accepted the challenge, so then you have to accept the stipulations of it as well. Otherwise, everyone here will be drawn into one of the largest street fights this city has seen. But I believe you still want to keep the crew you have since it's incredibly hard to rebuild one from scratch." Maverick replied glaring at him.

"You're correct, it is such a pain to rebuild an entirely new crew from scratch. Fine, I'll accept your conditions, and since I'm being such a gentleman about it, I'll give you a few moments to say goodbye to your brother." Tobias sneered as he sat back on the hood of his car.

Maverick studied Tobias a bit longer, he then glanced across the way and caught Sage's attention. He sent a nod towards him and then turned around to walk to the passenger's side of his car. "Reno..."

His brother glared at him, "How could you?! Sacrificing yourself! You're out of your mind! You know as well as I do Tobias won't keep his word. Once the fight between you two is over he'll try to kill us as well."

"It's why I'm counting on you little brother. I need you to send the message out to the others here of what's going on, but if it looks like Tobias is going to win, I need for you to get out of here as fast as you can. Promise me, little brother, promise you'll drive like a bat out of hell."

"You can't make me promise! If he tries to kill you, I'll jump in and..."

"No Reno. You're not! You must promise me you'll stay out of the fight. You need to stay alive for Dom's sake. She needs you now more than ever."

Reno frowned at him in slight confusion, "What do you mean by what you just said?"

Maverick reached into the car and ruffled Reno's hair as he pulled his arm out and smirked, "I'm proud of you Reno with everything you've done with your life. I still need to hear you promise me you'll stay out of our fight no matter what."

"You're out of your mind, but fine. I promise." Reno replied in a defeated tone. He reached out and grabbed his hand, "You better not die on me. Promise!"

"I'll do the best I can to stay alive. But yes, I promise, I'll kick his sorry ass and make him pay for everything." Maverick replied as he pulled out of Reno's grasp. He walked away from the passenger door and made his way to the front of his car.

Reno frowned deeply when he watched his brother get himself set for the fight against Tobias. "Maverick..." As quick as he could Reno typed in his laptop to everyone's cell phones of what was going on. Once he saw the messages have been sent he set his computer down and slid into the driver's seat. He adjusted as he kept his eyes on the two as they were making their way towards one another.

People drew out their cells and read the messages they all received from Reno. The people from both crews understood what was happening and stood down.

Shaw looked at Yayoi with a frown, "What is this suppose to mean?"

"It's a street challenge. A one on one fight. No one is to interfere otherwise it'll turn out to be a free for all. Maverick probably thought this was the only way to keep Tobias from killing everyone."

"What?! Yayoi we can't allow this to happen! We have to stop them here and now!"

Yayoi grabbed onto Shaw's arm so hard it made him wince. "No! We can't interfere, if we do then the challenge is null and we all die. We stay put until their challenge is finished."

Shaw yanked his arm out of her grasp, "What makes you believe Tobias will keep his word? He's already shown he has no honor what so ever."

"I don't, but I do believe Maverick will make it out of this. It won't be pretty but he will survive and Tobias will be taken down along with the crew he ran. Once he's taken down as leader the crew will either turn themselves into the authorities or they will leave the city and never come back." Yayoi explained as she readjusted, "So just sit still and watch. I'm not exactly enthused about this either, but it's all we can do for now."

Shaw grumbled under his breath as he readjusted himself as well. He turned his attention towards the two as they were getting closer to one another.

"Sage..."

"I know Dom. But Maverick was the one who issued the challenge. We have to stand down and wait."

"You might want to explain to your friends what's going on, they might try to jump in or something."

"Right," Sage replied as he sent a group message to his friends which read stay out of it. This fight is between them and them alone. "Alright, they got the message. Knowing the others, they're not going to like it but they trust me just like I trust in them."

Dom glanced at Sage's friends behind them, and then back at him, "Pretty lucky to have found people who honestly care for you, Sage."

He gave a small nod, "They're great. But when this is all over don't you dare tell them I admitted such a thing to you."

Dom smirked a bit, "Why Sage, I'd never, well maybe..." But then her expression changed when she saw Tobias and Maverick were within striking distance. "Here goes nothing. Good luck Maverick."

Tobias and Maverick stared one another down, a wind blew threw which made the loose pieces of dirt rise and danced around in the air. Once it settled the two launched towards one another.

The first punch glanced by Maverick's chin. He registered it too late it was a fake when Tobias sent a second punch into his gut which made him lean forward as he peddled backward. "Oof." He winced a bit when he felt the pain churn in his stomach.

The shot to his stomach was a heck of a hit. Besides having the wind knocked out of him, he felt a major shot of pain in his gut. This he wasn't used to at all when he fought others before they tried for the face or kidneys, but the gut should have been more towards discomfort, not this much pain.

Tobias laughed as he shifted into position once more, "What's the matter Maverick? I thought you were tougher than this?"

Maverick growled low in his throat once he got himself back together again. He looked at his hand and noticed something glimmering. 'When did he put those on? Damn cheater! Brass knuckles!' He reset himself scowling at him, "Oh ok you want to play it this way, fine. You are such a cheater, using brass knuckles in a street challenge!"

Tobias shook his head as he kept his eyes on him. "Nothing was said about no weapons. You should have been a bit more explicit about the rules. Your fault. But if you can't handle it..."

"I can handle it just fine!" Maverick shouted as he took a lurching step forward he whipped his elbow around and drove the point into Tobias's jaw. He put his whole body into his strike as he tumbled backward but still staying on his feet. "A blow for a blow you bastard!"

Tobias glared at Maverick as he reached up and felt something hot and sticky running down the side of his mouth. He brought his hand up to his eye level and saw Maverick drew first blood. Lowering his hand he charged at full speed towards his opponent.

Maverick saw him coming and charged at him as well, equal change of swinging fists collided against one another. Hate-hardened fists beaten bruising tattoos across each one's midsections. Maverick's beatings were being felt deeper because of Tobias's brass knuckles, but it didn't matter, he had to keep going he made a promise to Reno and more than ever he intended to keep it. On the next pass, Maverick hooked his leg around Tobias and slammed him down to the ground. The two of them were rolling around and still punching at one another.

Tobias saw his opportunity and struck Maverick straight in the nose. Blood gushed out making his opponent bring his hands to his face. Tobias smirked and went in for another cheap shot but instead of connecting to Maverick's face, he connected to the ground instead because Maverick rolled out of the way just in time. Tobias and Maverick kept their eyes upon one another as Maverick lowered his hands from his face. He wiped his bloody hands on his jeans. Both of them were about halfway up when Maverick was the first to launch himself at Tobias in a full tackle. This time the impact was hard enough to knock the brass knuckles loose from his hand. Maverick released Tobias and got up to his feet as soon as possible. He ran to the brass knuckles and swiped them from the ground and threw them away from Tobias.

"I don't need them to beat someone like you Maverick!" Tobias growled as he scrambled back to his feet.

"Then you shouldn't have brought them in the first place if you didn't need them to beat me! Come on!" Maverick shouted back at him. He knew both of them were starting to be in a world of hurt. Neither one was holding anything back from their blows. But he was hurting more because of his injuries from the car crash all those years ago. The fight between them made them worse and Tobias knew it, he was counting on it. 'I have to end this quick. I don't know how much more I'll be able to take.' Maverick thought to himself as he kept his eyes on Tobias.

"Having problems Maverick? Are your old injuries catching up to you along with your new ones? Maybe I should be merciful and put you out of your misery." Tobias taunted as the two circled one another.

"Funny choice of words. You and mercy in the same sentence. You don't know the meaning of the word." Maverick seathed as he faltered a little.

"Then why are you stalling? Maybe I should end this now and give you a quick death?" Tobias inquired as he winced internally. He knew he too was not in the best of shape either. 'Even in the state he's in I'm surprised he's hanging on this long.'

"You know what Tobias. You talk too much!" Maverick said as he yelled and launched himself into a full body check jamming himself into his opponent at full speed. The extreme impact landed Tobias on his back and the two of them slid for a while across the loose gravel. Maverick put his arms on either side of Tobias and started to push himself up. But in midway of getting up, he didn't see Tobias gathering dirt into his hand and throwing it into his face. Maverick yelled as he yanked the rest of the way back and his hands flew to his eyes trying to wipe out the dirt.

Tobias took his chance and pushed Maverick off of him and staggered to his feet. He walked to the front of Maverick and started to kick into his midsection. Kicking, left-right-left and then another right slamming his foot up into Maverick's ribs. He grinned when he heard them crack and then he stumbled back a little with a grin on his face and breathing hard. "You lose, and now you will die," Tobias said as he raised his foot high, it was about ready to slam down upon Maverick's throat when at the last moment Maverick reached up with both hands and yanked his foot throwing Tobias off balance and back to the ground.

Maverick scrambled to Tobias's head and reached over, in one swift moment he yanked and twisted until the bones popped and a gruesome snap was heard. Maverick dropped Tobias's head to the ground and slid away from the corpse. Wincing in extreme pain Maverick looked over towards his brother. Breathing hard he raised a shaky fist with a thumbs up towards him.

Reno's eyes went wide when he burst out of the car and raced towards his brother. "You...Crazy..."

"Hey...I...Told you...I'd win." Maverick replied wincing in extreme pain.

Reno looked towards Sage and the others, "I need some help over here now!"

Sage and Dom raced out of their car with the others not far behind. Sage was the first one to arrive. "Maverick..."

"Hey, golden boy." Maverick started to say.

"Save your strength, you're going to need it. I'm going to call for an ambulance." Sage replied as he reached for his cell and hit speed dial for the nearest hospital. Once he was done telling them their location he put his cell back into his pocket. "They'll be here soon."

Dom studied Maverick as she moved to Reno's side, "What were you thinking?!"

Reno looked up towards her and took Dom's hand, "Now isn't the time to give my brother the riot act. I already did earlier. Let's have him rest for a while and then you can alright?"

Dom frowned at Reno and sighed, "Fine, but once he's out of the hospital he's so going to get it."

Maverick despite his injuries chuckled, "I deserve it I know."

Kento shook his head in slight amusement and then looked across the way when he heard engines starting and the other crew driving away. "Hey! Where are they going?"

"It's over, the crew is done Kento. Their leader is dead and they have no reason to stay. They'll leave the city and never come back. Just as what Maverick stated in the terms of their challenge." Sage explained as he watched the crew disappear.

Shaw frowned, "Wait, what about the chips they have implanted in them?"

"I deactivated every single one of them. They're free, we are all free. Once Tobias saw he couldn't blow us up he threw the remote down. It gave me enough time to block the other signals and deactivate the rest of them." Reno explained as he looked around.

Rowen smirked as he crossed his arms and gave a small nod, "Impressive."

Reno looked at him and smiled, "Thanks." He then turned his attention towards Yayoi and Shaw, "So are you two going to take us in?"

"No, we're not. You helped us take down Tobias and the crew is no more. But you'll need to leave after Maverick is healed. You won't be able to come back to the city, because if any of you do, then we'll have to arrest you." Yayoi replied as she studied the three and then turned her attention to her partner.

Maverick, Reno and Dom looked at one another and then back at Yayoi, "Fair enough detective." Maverick looked over at Sage, "Hey golden boy."

Sage gave him a small smile, "You don't need to say it Maverick. Everything is forgiven. We were all wrong and let things get out of hand. It shouldn't have gotten this far, but they did. People we care about were hurt and it isn't how we use to be. We never hurt anyone back in the day. We shouldn't have had to now. From here on out, we have a new future. It's up to us on how we'll live it."

Maverick laughed and then winced a bit, "It's alright. Even though things ended up the way they did, it was good to see you again."

"It was. Except if you want to see one another, call first." Sage replied with a shake of his head.

"Maybe next time, you can come and see us after we find a place to settle. Then we can have a rematch of our race." Maverick offered as he raised his hand.

"I'll still kick your sorry butt," Sage replied as he took Maverick's hand and shook it.

"Right, until then. You turned out better than I thought. I'm glad you and your dad patched things up too."

"Same. It was hard keeping it from everyone. Father and I will have some major explaining to do."

"Hey. The ambulance arrived." Ryo interjected as it drove up towards them.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, golden boy."

Sage and the others watched as the EMTs carefully put Maverick on the gurney and set him inside of the ambulance. "How about a see you around instead of goodbye."

Maverick gave a nod as Reno and Dom were allowed to come inside of the back of the ambulance and ride back to the hospital with them.

Sage and the others watched as the ambulance rode away. "So, sis, what are you going to put in your report?"

Yayoi glanced at her brother and smirked as she leaned on her partner for support. "What else, what went down here of course. I'll just have to be a bit...Creative with the rest."

Sage smirked at her, "Think father will go for it? You know how he is with details."

"He'll have to. Because there's no way I'm going to rewrite it." Yayoi replied with slight humor in her voice.

Shaw looked at her with a raised brow, "Ha! What are you talking about? You'll end up reporting to me instead. I'm not going to do your paperwork forget it."

"Aww come on! You're my partner!"

"Partner, yes. Secretary, no. You can write your own."

"Fine, you win," Yayoi replied as she rolled her eyes a bit.

Shaw grinned, "Come on, I'm going to take you home so you can rest. What about the rest of you. Are you going home too?"

"I think so. We'll see you two around. Take care and get better soon!" Cye replied as he and the others watched the two detectives go back to their car and then drove away.

"Hey, before we leave. I just want to thank all of you for helping me out with this. I just wasn't sure if I should have brought all of you into this in the first place." Sage said as he looked at each one of them.

"No problem. You know we would have helped you out anyway no matter if you asked us or not." Rowen replied with a smirk as he and the others started walking to their vehicles.

"Do you think they'll come back, Sage?" Cye asked as he opened the door and started to get inside.

Sage thought about it as he was getting in the passenger side, "No I don't. I won't hear from them again. It's fine with me. They deserve to live their new lives. They have another chance to make something of it, and knowing them, they'll do just fine."

"Think you'll miss it? The racing I mean?"

Sage thought about it and then shook his head, "No, I'm done with it. Racing is definitely behind me now and I'm at peace with it. Let's go home."

Cye gave a nod as he smiled. He started the car and drove away with the others following.

As it is stated in philosophy: History has a way of delivering the right people in the right place at the right time. It's up to all of us to decide how to handle the repercussions of the past so they don't come back to haunt us later on in life.


End file.
